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I 


§ 

o 


PRE-HISTORIC  TIMES, 


AS  ELLTTSTBATED  BT 


ANCIENT   REMAINS, 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  MODERN  SAVAGES. 


BT 

SIR  JOHN"  LUBBOCK,  Bart.,  M.  P., 

•VIOE-PEESIDKNT  OP  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY;   VICE-PBESroENT  OP  THE  BKITISn  ASSOCIATION; 
PBX8IDKNT  OP  THE   ANTHKOPOLOfJIOAL  INSTTnjTE;    AND    FELLOW   OP    THB   UNN^EAN,  GEOLOGI- 
CAL,  AND  OTHEB  LEABNED  SOCIETIES. 


NEW    YORK: 
D.    APPLETON     AND     COMPANY, 

549     &     551     BROADWAY. 
1872. 


PEEFACE  TO  THE  FIEST  EDITION. 

TN  this  work  I  present  to  the  public  some  essays 
on  Pre-historic  Archaeology,  part  of  which  have 
appeared  in  the   Natural  History  Review,  viz.  that 
on — 

The  Danish  Shell-mounds,  in  October,  1861. 

The  Swiss  Lake-dwellings,  in  January,  1862. 

The  Fhnt  Implements  of  the  Drift,  in  July,  1862. 

North  American  Archaeology,  in  January,  1863. 

Cave-men,  in  July,  1864. 

Messrs.  Williams  and  Norgate  suggested  to  me  to 
repubhsh  these  articles  in  a  separate  form  :  and  I  was 
further  encouraged  to  do  so  by  the  fact  that  most  of 
them  had  re-appeared,  either  in  France  or  America. 
The  conductors  of  the  Annales  des  Sciences  Natu- 
relles  did  me  the  honour  to  translate  those  on  the 
Danish  Shell-mounds  and  the  Swiss  Lake-dwellings. 
The  latter  also  appeared  in  Silliman's  Journal  ; 
and  the  article  on  American  Archaeology,  with  the 


71  PEEFACE. 

exception  of  the  last  paragraph,  was  reprinted  in  the 
Smithsonian  Report,  for  1862  *. 

At  first  I  only  contemplated  reprinting  the  papers 
as  they  stood;  but  having,  at  the  request  of  the 
managers,  deUvered  at  the  Royal  Institution  a  short 
course  of  lectures  on  the  Antiquity  of  Man,  it  Was 
thought  desirable  to  introduce  the  substance  of  these, 
so  as  to  give  the  work  a  more  complete  character. 

My  object  has  been  to  elucidate,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  principles  of  pre-historic  archaeology ;  laying  spe- 
cial stress  upon  the  indications  which  it  affords  of  the 
condition  of  man  in  primeval  times.  The  tumuli,  or 
burial-mounds,  the  peat-bogs  of  this  and  other  coun- 
tries, the  Kjokkenmoddings  or  shell-mounds  of  Den- 
mark, the  Lake -habitations  of  Switzerland,  the  bone- 
caves  and  the  river-drift  gravels,  are  here  our  principal 
sources  of  information. 

In  order  to  quaUfy  myself,  as  far  as  possible,  for 
the  task  which  I  have  undertaken,  I  have  visited  not 
only  our  three  great  museums  in  London,  Dublin, 
and  Edinburgh,  but  also  many  on  the  Continent ;  as> 
for  instance,  those  at  Copenhagen,  Stockholm,  Lund, 
Flensburg,  Aarhuus,  Lausanne,  Basle,  Berne,  Zurich, 

*  The  article  on  Cave-men  was  also  translated  in  the  Annales  des  Sciences 
Naturelles,  fifth  ser.  vol.  ii.,  and  that  on  North  American  Archaeology  in  the 
Bcvoo  Archeologique  for  1865. 


PEEFACE.  VU 

YverdoD,  Paris,  Abbeville,  etc.,  besides  many  private 
collections  of  great  interest,  of  which  I  may  particu- 
larly specify  those  of  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  Messrs. 
Christy,  Evans,  Bateman,  Forel,  Schwab,  Troyon, 
Gillieron,  Uhlmann,  Desor,  and  lastly,  the  one  recently 
made  by^  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet  in  the  bone -caves  of 
the  Dordogne. 

Sometimes  alone,  and  sometimes  in  company  with 
Messrs.  Prestmch  and  Evans,  I  have  made  numerous, 
visits  to  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  and  have  examined 
almost  every  gravel-pit  and  section  from  Amiens  down 
to  the  sea.  In  1861,  with  Mr.  Busk,  and  again  in 
1863,  I  went  to  Denmark,  in  order  to  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  seeing  the  Kjokkenmoddings  themselves. 
Under  the  guidance  of  Professor  Steenstrup,  I  visited 
several  of  the  most  celebrated  shell-mounds,  particu- 
larly those  at  Havelse,  Bilidt,  Meilgaard,  and  Fanne- 
rup.  I  also  made  myself  familiar  with  so  much  of  the 
Danish  language  as  was  necessary  to  enable  me  to  read 
the  various  reports  drawn  up  by  the  Kjokkenmoddmg 
committee,  consisting  of  Professors  Steenstrup,  Wor- 
saae,  and  Forchhammer.  Last  year  I  went  to  the 
north  of  Scotland,  to  examine  some  similar  shell- 
mounds  discovered  by  Dr.  Gordon,  of  Birnie,  on  the  • 
shores  of   the  Moray  Firth,  which   appear,  however, 


"Vill  PREFACE. 

to    belong  to   a  much   later  period    than   those   of 
Denmark. 

In  18G2  M.  Morlot  very  kindly  devoted  himself  to 
me  for  nearly  a  month,  during  which  time  we  not  only 
visited  the  principal  museums  of  Switzerland,  but  also 
several  of  the  Lake -habitations  themselves,  and  par- 
ticularly those  at  Morges,  Thonon,  Wauwyl,  Moossee- 
dorf,  and  the  Pont  de  Thiele.  In  addition  to  many 
jninor  excursions,  I  had,  finally,  last  spring,  the 
advantage  of  spending  some  time  with  Mr.  Christy 
among  the  celebrated  bone-caves  of  the  Dordogne. 
Thus,  by  carefully  examining  the  objects  themselves 
and  the  locahties  in  which  they  have  been  found,  I 
have  endeavoured  to  obtain  a  more  vivid  and  correct 
impression  of  the  facts  than  books,  or  even  museums, 
alone  could  have  given. 

To  the  more  strictly  archseological  part  of  the 
work  I  have  added  some  chapters  on  the  Manners  and 
Customs  of  Modern  Savages,  confining  myself  to 
those  tribes  which  are  still,  or  were,  when  first  visited 
by  travellers,  ignorant  of  the  use  of  metal,  and  which 
have  been  described  by  competent  and  trustworthy 
observers.  This  account,  incomplete  as  it  is,  will  be 
found,  I  think,  to  throw  some  hght  on  the  remains  of 
savage  life  in  ages  long  gone  by. 


PEEFACE.  IX 

Fully  satisfied  that  religion  and  science  cannot  in 
reality  be  at  variance,  I  have  striven  in  the  present 
publication  to  follow  out  the  rule  laid  down  by  the 
Bishop  of  London,  in  his  excellent  lecture  delivered 
last  year  at  Edinburgh.  The  man  of  science,  says  Dr. 
Tait,  ought  to  go  on,  "  honestly,  patiently,  diffidently, 
observing  and  storing  up  his  observations,  and  carry- 
ing his  reasonings  unflinchingly  to  their  legitimate 
conclusions,  convinced  that  it  would  be  treason  to 
the  majesty  at  once  of  science  and  of  rehgion  if  he 
sought  to  help  either  by  swerving  ever  so  Httle  from 
the  straight  rule  of  truth*." 

Etlmology,  in  fact,  is  passing  at  present  through  a 
phase  from  which  other  Sciences  have  safely  emerged ; 
and  the  new  views  with  reference  to  the  Antiquity  of 
Man,  though  still  looked  upon  with  distrust  and 
apprehension,  will,  I  doubt  not,  in  a  few  years,  be 
regarded  mill  as  Httle  disquietude  as  are  now  those 
discoveries  in  astroncgny  and  geology,  which  at  one 
time  excited  even  greater  opposition. 

I  have  great  pleasure  in  expressing  my  gratitude 
to  many  archaeological  friends  for  the  liberal  manner 
in  which  their  museums  have  been  thrown  open  to  me, 


*  Lecture  on  Science  and  Bevelation  delirerod  at  Edinburgh.    See  the 
Times,  November  7th,  1864. 


X  PREFACE. 

and  for  much  valuable  assistance  in  other  Tvays. 
My  thanks  are  due  to  Professor  Steenstrup  for 
many  of  the  figures  by  which  the  work  is  illus- 
trated. Others,  through  the  kindness  of  Sir  W.  R. 
Wilde,  Mr.  Franks,  and  Dr.  Thumam,  have  been 
placed  at  my  disposal  by  the  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
and  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  To  Professor  Steen- 
strup, Dr.  Keller,  M.  Morlot,  and  Professor  Riiti- 
meyer,  I  am  indebted  for  much  information  on  the 
subject  of  their  respective  investigations.  Finally, 
Mr.  Busk,  Mr.  Evans,  and  Professor  Tyndall  have 
had  the  great  kindness  to  read  many  of  my  proofs, 
and  I  am    indebted   to   them    for  various  valuable 


suggestions. 


Chiselhurst, 

February,  1865. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 

TN    preparing    a   New    Edition    of   Pre -historic 
Times,   I  have  endeavoured,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  avoid  unduly  increasing  the  size  of  the  book ;  and 
although  the  present  work  will  be  found  to  contain  a 
great  number  of  new  facts,  some  of  .the  chapters  being 
indeed  almost  re-written,  still  it  is  only  increased  in 
size  to  the  extent  of  one  hundred  pages.     Nearly  half 
of  these  are  occupied  by  the  addition  of  more  than 
seventy  new   figures,   which   will   tend   to   diminish, 
rather  than  increase,  the  time  occupied  by  its  perusal. 
This  course  has  compelled  me  to  omit  all  reference 
to  manv  researches  of  much  merit  and  interest,  while 
in  other  cases  I  have  been  obliged  to  treat  the  labour 
of  years  in  a  few  short  sentences.     The  true  force  of 
the  evidence  in  support  of  archeeological  conclusions 
is  thus  materially  weakened,  by  being  deprived  of  its 
cumulative  character,  but  I  have  endeavoured  in  many 
cases   to  meet   the   objection  by  the   introduction  of 
statistical  tables. 


XU  PREFACE. 

Since  the  first  edition  was  published,  I  have  visited 
the  principal  German  and  Italian  museums,  and  have 
been  in  correspondence  with  the  most  active  archaeo- 
logists both  in  Europe  and  also  across  the  Atlantic. 

I  cannot  attempt  here  to  express  in  any  suitable 
manner  my  gratitude  for  the  assistance  which  I  have 
received.  Every  museum  which  I  have  visited  has 
been  thrown  open  to  me  with  the  greatest  liberality ; 
and  every  archaeologist  whom  I  have  consulted  has 
given  me  the  readiest  and  fullest  information. 

No  one  can  be  more  sensible  than  I  am  of  the 
many  shortcomings  of  this  work.  Those,  however, 
who  perceive  them  most  clearly,  will,  I  am  sure,  be 
disposed  to  judge  them  leniently,  because  they  will 
best  be  able  to  appreciate  the  difficulty  of  keeping 
pace  with  a  Science  which  has  so  many  and  such 
enthusiastic  votaries;  the  results  of  whose  earnest 
labour  are  to  be  found  scattered  through  a  number 
of  periodicals,  published  in  many  different  countries 
and  in  various  tongues. 

High  Elms,  Down,  Kent, 
March,  1869. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

PAOS 

Division  of  Pre-historic  archaeology  into  font  periods — First  disco, 
very  of  metal — Allusions  to  bronze  in  ancient  writers — Lucretius — 
Tiefenau — Find  of  iron  objects  at  Nydam,  in  Slesvick— Owner's  marks 
— Inscriptions  at  Nydam — Nature  of  archaeological  evidence — ^Sta- 
tistics— Pottery  of  the  different  ages — Bronze  weapons  not  of  Roman 
origin — Geographical  distribution  of  bronze  weapons — Summary  of 
argument — Bronze  weapons  not  Saxon — Hallstadt      ....      1 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON  THE   USE   OF   BRONZE   IN  ANCIENT  TIIIES. 

Bronze  celts — Bronze  swords — Bronze  spears — Bronze  fish-hooks  and 
sickles — Bronze  knives — Bronze  ornaments — The  metallurgy  of  the 
Bronze  Age — Gold  ornaments — List  of  bronze  objects — Dress  during 
the  Bronze  Age — Burial  during  the  Bronze  Age — Hut- urns — Pen-pits 
— Picts'  Houses — Beehive  houses — The  Burgh  of  Moussa — Staigue  fort, 
Kerry 26 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE      BRONZE      AGE. 

Similarity  of  bronze  implements  in  different  countries — The  Bronze  Age 
and  the  Phoenicians — Ancient  voyages.  Himilco — Pytheas — Phoe- 
nician colonies  and  commerce — Copper — Tin — Traces  of  Baal  worship 
in  Northern  Europe— Objections  to  the  Phoenician  theory   .        .        .67 


xiv  CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  USE   OF   STONE   IN   ANCIENT  TIMES. 

%  PAGE 

The  great  abundance  of  stone  implements— Grimes'  Graves— Pressi,'^y 
—Mode  of  obtaining  flakes— Modern  flakes— Manufacture  of  flakes  in 
Mexico,  and  among  the  Esquimaux  — Ancient  manufactories— The  use 
of  ancient  stone  axes— Scrapers— Shell-mound  axes— Chisels— Awls 
— Spears— Daggers— Slingstones— Arrowheads— Bone  implements- 
Harpoons — Flint  finds '5 

CHAPTER  V. 

MEGALITHIC    MONUMENTS   AND   TUMULI. 

Tumuli— Menhirs— Stone  circles— Mention  of  stone  circles  and  tumuli  in 
ancient  history— Megalithic  monuments  not  Druidical— Abnry— Sil- 
bury  Hill  more  ancient  than  the  Roman  road — Stonehcnge — Camac — 
Modem  use  of  stone  circles — Megalithic  monuments  in  India — Modem 
Indian  dolmens— Stone  circles,  etc.,  in  Palestine  and  other  countries— 
Eesemblance  between  the  chambered  tumuli  and  the  dwellings  of  some 
Arctic  nations— Hut-burial  among  modern  savages— Long  barrows — 
Picts'  houses— Objects  buried  with  the  dead  not  always  intended  for 
actual  use — Lists  of  interments— Models  of  implements  sometimes 
buried — Barrows  belong  to  very  different  periods — Difficulty  of  deter- 
mining the  period  to  which  a  tumulus  belongs — Tabulated  interments — 
Statistics— Danish  tumulus  in  the  Island  of  Moen— Description  of  a 
barrow  at  West  Kennet— Pottery  from  the  West  Kennet  tumulus — 
Breton  tumuli — Sepulchral  pottery — Rock  Sculptures— Bones  of  ani- 
mals in  tumuli— Sepulchral  feasts— Sacrifices— Pre-historic  races  of 
men — Desirability  of  preserving  tumuli 109 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    ANCIENT   LAKE-HABITATIOXS   OF    SWITZERLAND. 

Lake-dwellings  mentioned  by  Herodotus — Irish  crannoges — Pile  dwell- 
ings in  other  parts  of  Europe — Modem  lake-dwellings — Lake-dwellings 
found  in  most  of  the  Swiss  lakes — Lake-dwellings — Attempt  to  make 
a  census — Construction  of  the  platforms — Comparison  of  dwellings  in 
large  and  small  lakes — Comparison  of  lake-dwellings  of  different 
periods — Preparation  of  the  piles — Number  of  piles  used — Description 
of  the  remains  at  Wauwyl — Weapons  nnd  implements  of  the  lakemen 
— Axes — Knives  —  Sawa  —  Spindle  Whorls — Flakes  • —  Arrowheads — 
Implements  of  bone  and  wood — Pottery — Dress — The  fauna  of  the 
lake-dwellings — Moosseedorf — The  fauna — Birds — Mouse — Cat — Ass 
— Horse — Boar — Sua  Palustris — Comparison  of  the  bones  belonging  to 
wild  and  domesticated  races — Oxen — Absence  of  extinct  species — • 
Aurochs — Elk — Ibex — General  character  of  the  fauna — Comparison  of 
the  different  lake-villages— The  flora  of  the  Pfahlbauten— Cultivated 
plants — Scarcity  of  human  remains — Objects  of  bronze — The  worship 


CONTENTS.  KV 

PAGB 

of  Lakes — The  Pottery  of  the  Bronze  Age — Inhabitants  of  tho  lalie- 
villages — Character  of  the  objects  found  in  different  lake- villages — 
Antiquity  of  lake-villages 173 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    DANISH    KJOKKENMODDINGS,    OR   SHELL-MOUNDS. 

Danish  tumuli — Kjokkcnmoddings,  or  shcU-mounds — Description  of  the 
shell-mounds — Distribution  of  the  shcU-mounds — Shell-mounds  in 
Scotland — Shell  mounds  in  other  countries — Flora  of  tho  Danish  shell- 
mounds — Fauna  of  the  shell-mounds — Fish — Birds — Mammals — Con- 
dition of  the  bones — Prevalence  of  certain  bones — Habits  of  the  mound- 
builders — Flint  implements  from  the  shell-mounds — Absence  of 
polished  flint  implements — Food  of  the  shell-mound  builders — Tho 
relation  of  the  shell-mounds  to  tho  tumuli — The  opinions  of  Messrs. 
Steenstrup  and  Worsaae — Antiquity  of  the  shell-mounds    .        .        .  223 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

NOKTH    AMERICAN  AECHiEOLOGY. 

Bibliography — Classification  of  antiquities — implements — The  use  of 
copper — Ancient  copper-mines — Pottery — Ornaments — Earthworks — 
Enclosures — Sacred  enclosures — Earthworks  of  the  Scioto  valley — 
Aztalan — Vitrified  walls — Modem  earthworks — Chunk  yards — Ancient 
modes  of  burial — So-called  sacrificifil  mounds — Grave  Creek  mound — 
Temple  Mounds — Animal  mounds — Rock  carvings — Wampum — The 
mound-builders — Gigantic  earthworks — Traces  of  ancient  agriculture 
— Antiquity  of  the  remains — Condition  of  the  bones — American  forests 
— Indications  of  four  periods — Man  and  the  mastodon — Antiquity  of 
man  in  America    ...........  250 

CHAPTER   IX. 

qUATERNARY    MAMMALIA. 

Succession  of  species — The  cave-bear — The  cave-hyaena — The  cave-lion 
—  The  mammoth — Existence  of  the  African  elephant  in  Europe — The 
quaternary  species  of  rhinoceros — Rhinoceros  Tichorhinus — The  musk- 
ox — ^The  hippopotamus — The  Irish  elk — Wild  horses — The  reindeer 
— The  Aurochs — The  urus — Elk — Lemming — Snowy  owl — Mollusca 
— Links  between  existing  species — Climate  of  the  quaternary  period 
— Probable  fluctuations  of  climate 289 

CHAPTER  X. 

CAVE    MEN. 

Caves  in  the  South  of  France — Belgian  caves — Kent's  Hole — Brixham 
cave — Sicilian    caves — Gibraltar    caves — Aurignac — Wokey     hole — 

2 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Caves  in  the  Dordogne — Geology  of  the  Dordogne — Fanna  of  the 
Dordogne  caves — Absence  of  domestic  animals — Flint  implements — 
Flakes — Scrapers — Awls,  etc. — Hammers — Lanceheads — Relative  an- 
tiquity of  the  remains — Absence  of  polished  implements — Bone  im- 
plements — Representations  of  animals — Drawing  of  reindeer  and 
mammoth — Sculpture — Habits  of  the  cave-dwellers — Human  remains 
— The  Engis  skull — The  Neanderthal  skull — Cave  men        .        .        .  312 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EIVER-DEIFT  GRAVEL-BEDS. 

M.  Boncher  de  Perthes — Mr.  Prestwich  and  Mr.  Evans — Mr.  Frere's 
discovery  in  1800 — Similar  discoveries  elsewhere — Similar  discoveries 
in  other  countries — Spain — Assyria — India — Antiquity  as  shown  by 
physical  geography — The  questions  at  issue — Evidence  derivable  from 
the  flints  themselves — The  forgeries — Character  of  the  true  drift  im- 
plements— Forms  of  drift  implements — Drift  implements  never  ground 
— Scarcity  of  human  bones — Scarcity  of  men  in  ancient  times — Pro- 
portion of  men  to  other  animals  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  TeiTitory — The 
elephant  and  rhinoceros — Characteristics  of  the  drift-beds — Physical 
geography  of  the  Somme  valley — St.  Acheul — Organic  remains — 
Mincralogical  constituents  of  the  river-drift  gravels — Objections  to  the 
proposed  theory— Ice  action — Fresh-water  origin  of  the  gravels — 
Inapplicability  of  cataclysms — Alteration  of  the  river  level — Gradual 
excavation  of  the  valley — The  lower  level  gravel-beds — Their  Fauna — 
The  peat — Objects  found  in  the  peat — Relation  of  the  loess  to  the 
gravel — Continual  changes  of  river  courses — Elevation  of  the  land — 
Eecapitulation 342 

CHAPTER  XII. 

ON  THE    ANTIQUITY    OP   ilAN. 

Historical  evidence — Ethnological  evidence — Evidence  derivable  from 
physical  geography — The  vegetation  Of  Denmark — The  cone  of  the 
Tiniere— The  valley  of  the  Thiele— The  formation  of  Egypt— The 
gradual  elevation  of  the  country,  owing  to  the  annual  deposit  of  Nile 
mud — Mr.  Horner's  Egyptian  researches — Age  of  the  Mississippi  delta 
■ — Lapse  of  time,  as  indicated  by  the  change  of  climate — Sir  J.  W. 
Lubbock  on  the  earth's  axis — -Effect  of  a  change  in  the  gulf-stream — 
Astronomical  causes — Precession  of  the  equinoxes — M.  Adhemar's 
argument — The  cupola  of  ice  at  the  South  Pole — Objections  to  M. 
Adhemar's  Theory — Probable  effect  of  precession — The  excenfrricity  of 
the  earth's  orbit — Date  suggested  for  the  glacial  epoch — Effect  of 
rivers  on  the  level  of  continents — M.  Adhemar  on  changes  in  the  sea- 
level — Geological  changes  in  the  Quaternary  period — Geological  time 
—Reported  evidence  of  man  in  the  Pliocene  period — Miocene  man      .  385 


CONTENTS.  XVli 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

MODERN      SAVAGES. 

Tho  antrast-worthincss  of  tradition — Tendency  to  the  marvellous — No  evi- 
dence of  def^radation — Progress  among  savages — Hottentots  :  dress ; 
food ;  weapons  ;  metallurgy ;  customs  ;  character — Vcddahs — Andaman 
Islanders — Australians:  houses;  food;  rock-engravings  ;  canoes  ;  im- 
plements ;  clubs  ;  spears ;  throwing-sticks ;  the  boomerang  ;  fire ; 
clothes  ;  ornaments  ;  tattooing  ;  initiation  ceremonies ;  games  ;  super- 
stition ;  modes  of  burial ;  language  ;  marriage — Tasmanians — Feegee 
Islanders:  food;  weapons;  houses;  temples;  religion;  canoes; 
pottery  ;  games  ;  agriculture  ;  women  ;  dress  ;  tattooing ;  burial ; 
customs  ;  parricide  ;  hon-iblo  rites  ;  cannibalism  ;  character  of  the 
Fecgecans—ilfaortes ;  food;  dress;  ornaments;  tattooing;  houses; 
fortifications ;  weapons ;  canoes;  burial;  music;  character;  religion; 
cannibalism— ra/u'it :  implements;  fish-hooks;  nets  ;  baskets  ;  mats ; 
Jpark-cloth  ;  dress ;  canoes;  music;  furniture;  weapons;  food;  fire; 
cookery;  ava;  a  chief 's  dinner ;  solitary  meals;  surgery;  modes  of 
burial ;  Oberea's  morae  ;  government ;  ideas  of  right  and  wrong  ;  the 
Arreoy  society  ;  general  character— T/ic  Tongans        ....  424 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MODERN  SAVAGES. — Continued. 

Esquimaux  :  tents  ;  houses  ;  interior  of  an  Esquimaux  house  ;  lamps  ; 
absence  of  cleanliness  ;  stores  of  food ;  cookery ;  food ;  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining water;  fire;  implements  and  weapons;  hunting;  modes  of 
hunting  and  fishing ;  sledges  ;  boats ;  scrapers  ;  clothes,  ornaments, 
cheek-studs ;  music ;  drawings ;  religious  modes  of  burial ;  things 
buried  with  the  dead ;  character— iVor^/i  American  Indians  .-  dress ; 
ornaments  ;  labrcts  ;  the  practice  of  head-moulding  ;  religion  ;  social 
position  of  women  ;  character ;  cruelty  ;  infanticide ;  implements ; 
weapons ;  bows  ;  knives  ;  spears  ;  boats  ;  fire  ;  dwellings  ;  agriculture  ; 
maize;  rice;  animal  food;  burial;  art — Paraguay  Indians — Patago- 
nians  :  stature ;  huts ;  dress  ;  weapons ;  food  ;  burial — Fuegians : 
huts;  implements;  weapons;  food;  habits;  mode  of  fishing;  can- 
nibalism; absence  of  religion  ;  canoes ;  dress ;  fia-o       ....  491 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MODERN  SAVAGES — concluded. 

Skilfulness  of  savages — Varieties  of  implements — Neatness  in  sewing — 
Art  of  drilling — Important  works  erected  by  savages — Differences  in 
the  Stono  Age — Different  lines  of  civilization — Differences  of  weapons 


XVUl  CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

— Isolation  of  savages — Geographical  distribation  of  weapons,  etc. — 
Differences  between  savages — Different  uses  for  the  dog — Different 
modes  of  obtaining  fire — Different  modes  of  burial — Descent  of  pro- 
perty— Differences  in  prevalent  sounds — Differences  in  signs — Ideas  of 
decency — Ideas  of  virtue — Deification  of  white  men — Curious  customs 
— Social  position  of  woman — Savages  and  children — Moral  inferiority 
of  savages — Intellectual  inferiority — Poverty  of  savago  languages — 
Deficiences  in  numeration — Absence  of  religion  among  various  savage 
races — Rudiments  of  religion — Low  ideas  of  the  deity — Witchcraft — 
General  wretchedness  of  savages 544 


CHAPTER  XVL 

CONCLUDING       REMARKS. 

The  higher  animals — The  primitive  condition  of  man — Diffusion  of  man 
— Early  races  of  man — Natural  selection  applied  to  man — The 
influence  of  mind — Increase  of  happiness — Sufferings  of  savages — 
Anxieties  of  savages — Superstitious  terrors  of  savages — Self-inflicted 
Bufferings — The  blessings  of  civilization — The  diminution  of  suffering — 
The  diminution  of  sin — The  advantages  of  science — The  future  .        .  584 


Appendix 604 

Index •••••..  613 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FIGURES. 


•1.  Ancient  Danish  arrow-head  with  owner's  mark. 

Engelhardt.     Denmark  in  the  early  Iron  Age,  p.  xiii,  fig.  35. 

2.  Modern  Esquimaux  arrow-head  with  owner's  mark. 

In  my  collection,  one-half  natural  size. 

3.  Owner's  marks  from  various  ancient  Danish  arrows. 

Denmark  in  the  early  Iron  Age,  p.  i-xiii. 

4.  Copper  ?  celt  from  Watcrfoi-d.  It  is  6  inches  long,  33  wide  at  the  broader 

end,  and  1^  at  the  smaller,  which  is  about  l-16th  thick. 
Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  363. 

5.  Winged  celt,  or  Paalstave,  from  Ireland. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  373. 

6.  Socketed  celt  from  Ireland,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  385. 
7-9.  The  three  principal  types  of  celts,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
supposed  to  have  been  handled. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  367. 

10.  Kalmuck  Axe.     Iron.     In  the  collection  of  the  late  Dr.  Kleram. 

11.  Copper  ?  celt  from  Ireland,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  363. 

12.  Half  of  a  celt  mould  from  Ireland.     It  is  of  mica  slate,  6}  inches  long, 

4  wide,  and  presents  upon  the   surface  the  apertui-es  by  means  of 
which  it  was  adjusted  by  the  other  half. 
Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  91. 

13.  Decorated  celt  from  Ii-eland.     It  is  8^  inches  long,  4  wide  at  the  bladB 

end,  and  half-an-inch  thick. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  365. 

14.  Simple  celt  from  Denmark,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobonhavn,  No.  178. 

15.  Ornamented  celt  from  Denmark,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordisko  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  179.     . 

16.  Socketed  celt  from  Denmark,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

•Nordisko  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjiibenhavn,  No.  195. 

17.  Bronze  celt,  Naples.     In  my  collection,  one-half  nat.  size. 

18.  „         „       Le  Puy.  „  „  two-thirds  nat.  size. 

19.  Stone  axe,  Denmark.     In  my  collection,         ,,         „       „ 

20.  African  axe.     Tho  blade  is  of  iron.     In  my  collection,  one-sixth  nat.  size. 


XX  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    FIGURES, 

21.  Iron  sword  from  a  cemetery  at  Brighthampton  in  Oxfordshire,  one-eighth 

of  the  actual  size. 

Archajologia,  vol.  xxxviii.,  pi.  2,  fig.  1. 

22.  Sword  from  Ireland.     It  is  23j  inches  long,  1|  wide  in  the  centre  of  the 

blade,  which  is  margined  by  a  grooved  feather  edge. 
Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  444. 

23.  Sword  from  Sweden,  one-fourth  of  the  actual  size. 

NilSson's  Skandinaviska  Nordons  Ur-invanare,  pi.  1,  fig.  7. 

24.  Sword  from  Switzerland,  one-fifth  of  the  actual  size. 

lu  the  museum  of  Col.  Schwab.  Mitt.  Ant.  Gcs.  in  Zurich,  Bd.  xii., 
H.  3. 

25.  Sword  from  Concise  on  the  Lake  of  Neufchatel,  one-fourth  of  the  actual 

size. 
»  In  the  museum  of  Col.  Schwab.  Mitt.  Ant.  Gcs.  in  Zurich,  Bd.  xiii., 

H.  3. 

26.  Sword  from  Scandinavia. 

Atlas  for  Nordisk  Oldkyndighed,  pi.  iv.  fig.  42. 

27.  Sword  from  Denmark,  found  in  the  Treenhoi  tumulus. 

Af  b.  af.  Danske  Oldsager  og  Mindesmceker,  H.  5. 

28.  Sword  from  Denmark,  one-sixth  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det.  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobcnhavn,  No.  121. 

29.  Sword  from  Denmark,  one-sixth  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det.  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobcnhavn,  No.  123. 

30.  Hilt  of  sword  from  Denmark,  one-fourth  of  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det.  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobcnhavn,  No.  128. 

31.  Hilt  of  sword  from  Denmark,  one-fourth  of  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det.  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobcnhavn,  No.  127. 

32.  Bronze  dagger  blade  from  Ireland.     It  is  10|  inches  long,  by  2j  wide. 

The  four  rivets  by  which  it  was  fastened  to  the  handle  are  still  in 
situ. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  418. 

33.  Bronze  dagger  from  Ireland,  two-thirds  of  the  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  458. 

34.  Bronze  dagger  blade  from  Ii'oland,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  4G3. 

35.  Bronze  spear-head  from  Ireland.     It  is  11^  inches  long,  by  1^  broad. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  4i)9. 

36.  Bronze  spear-head  from  Ireland.     It  is  13|  inches  long,  by  2|  broad. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  496. 

37.  Bronze  knife  from  Denmark,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordi.ske  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobcnhavn,  No.  167. 

38.  Bronze  knife  from  Denmark,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobcnhavn,  No.  169. 

39.  Bronze  knife  from  Denmark,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  166. 
-30.  Bronze  knife  from  the  lake-village  of  Estavayer,  on  the  lake  of  Neuf- 
chatel, one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Keller.     Mit.  der  Antiq.  Ges.  in  Zurich,  Bd.  xiii.  Abth.  2,  H.  3, 
pi.  V.  fig.  19. 


DESCRIPTION    OP   THE    FIGURES.  XXI 

41.  Bronze  knife  from  the  lake-village  of  Estavayer,  on  the  lake  of  Nouf- 

chatel,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Keller.    Mit.  der  Antiq.  Ges.  in  Zurich,  Bb.  xiii.  Abth.  2,  H.  3, 
pi.  V.  fig.  20. 

42.  Razor-knife  from  Denmark,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordioke  Oldsagcr  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  1V3. 

43.  Razor-knife  from  Denmark,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordisko  Oldsagcr  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  172. 

44.  Razor-knife  from  Denmark,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordisko  Oldsagcr  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  171. 

45.  Razor-knife  from  Denmark,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsagcr  i  dot  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  175. 

46.  Small  bronze  knife  in  a  leather  case,  from  Denmark,  two-thirds  of  the 

actual  size. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  dot  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  164. 

47.  Bronze  knife,  actual  size,  Denmark. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  No.  170. 

48.  Bronze  knife  found  by  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,  at  Thebes. 

Lee's  Keller,  p.  276. 

49.  Bronze  bracelet  from  Cortaillod,  on  the  lake  of  Neufchatel,  one-third  of 

the  actual  size. 

Troyon's  Habitations  Lacustres,  pi.  xi.,  fig.  28. 

50.  Bronze  bracelet  from  Cortaillod,  on  the  lake  of  Neufchatel,  one-third  of 

the  actual  size.  « 

Troyon,  I.  c.  pi.  xi.,  fig.  18. 
51-54.  Bronze  hair-pins  from  the  Swiss  lakes,  one  half  of  the  actual  size. 

Keller,  I.  c.  Zweiter  Bericht,  pi.  3. 
55.  Bronze  awl  from  the  Swiss  lakes,  actual  size. 

Keller,  I.  c.  Zweiter  Bericht,  pi.  3. 
56-60.  Various  small  objects  of  bronze  from  the  Swiss  lakes. 

Keller,  I.  c.  Zweiter  Bericht,  pi.  3. 

61.  Bronze  celt,  one-half  nat.  size.     Showing  the  line  of  jimction  of  the  two 

halves  of  the  mould  in  which  it  was  cast. 

Found  at  Aylesford,  Kent ;  and  presented  to  me  by G.W.  Dasent.Esq. 

62.  Bronze  brooch,   Mecklenburgh,    thi-ee-tenths   nat.    size.      Showing   tho 

manner  in  which  it  has  been  mended. 

Lisch.     Altcrthiimer,  H.  vii.  pi.  4,  fig.  2. 

63.  Bronze  celt.     Showing  the  air- vents  bent  over. 

64.  Gold  torque,  consisting  of  a  simple  flat  strip  or  band  of  gold,  loosely 

twisted,  and  having  expanded  extremities  which  loop  into  one  another. 
It  measures  5J  inches  across,  and  was  found  near  Clonmacnoise,  in 
Ireland. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  74. 

65.  Gold  fibula,  one-half  of  tho  actual  size.     The  hoop  is  very  slender,  the 

cups  deep  and  conical. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  56. 

66.  Smooth  massive  cylindrical  gold  ring,  with  ornamented  ends,  one-half  cf 

the  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  52. 


XXU  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    FIGUUES. 

67.  Gold  fibala,  one-third  of  tho  actual  siz3.     The  external  surfaces  of  the 

cups  are  decorated  with  circular  indentations  surrounding  a  central 
indented  spost.  There  is  also  an  elegant  pattern  where  the  handle 
joins  the  cups.  It  is  8^  inches  long,  and  weighs  33  ounces,  being  the 
heaviest  now  known  to  exist. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  GO. 
67*.  Iron  ornament,  Africa. 

68.  Inscribed  celt.    Museum  Kircheriamim,  Eome.  One-half  of  the  actual  size. 

Rap.  Sugli.  Stud,  e  Sulle  Scop.  Paleo.  nel  bacino  delle  Campagna 
Romana.  Rossi. 

69.  Woollen  cap,  one-third  of  the  actual  size.     Found  with  the  bronze  sword 

(fig.  27)  in  a  Danish  tumulus. 

Afb.  af.  Dansko  Oldsager  og  Mindesmeeker.     Madsen,  H.  5. 

70.  Another  woollen  cap,  one-third   of  the  actual  size.     Found  with  the 

preceding. 

71.  A  small  comb,  one-third  of  the  actual  size.     Found  with  the  preceding. 

72.  A  woollen  cape,  one-third  of  the  actual  size.     Found  with  the  preceding. 

73.  A  woollen  shirt,  one-third  of  the  actual  size.    Found  with  the  preceding. 

74.  A  woolled  shawl,  one-third  of  tho  actual  size.    Found  with  the  preceding. 

75.  A  pair  of  leggings,  one-thinl  of  the  actual  size.    Found  with  the  preceding. 

76.  Hut  urn.     Albano. 

77.  Urn  apparently  representing  a  lake-dwelling.     In  the  Munich  collection. 

Lisch.     Die  Alterthiimer  Unserer  Heid.  Vorzcit,  H.  x.  T.  3. 

78.  Group  of  beehive  houses,  Scotland. 

Proc.  Soc.  antiq.  Scot.,  vol.  i.  part  xii. 

79.  The  Burgh  of  Moussa.     Shetlands. 

80.  Staigue  Fort,  in  the  county  of  Kerry. 

From  a  model  in  the  collection  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

81.  Flint  core  or  nucleus,  from  which  flakes  have    been  struck,   Jutland. 

One-half  of  the  actual  size. 
In  my  o^^'n  collection. 
82-8i.  Three  views  of  a  flint  flake  from  the  Kjokkenmodding  at  Fannerup, 
in  Jutland,  one-half  of  the   actual   size,     a  represents   the  bulb  of 
percussion,  which  is  also  shown  by  the  shading  in  fig.  84. 
In  my  own  collection. 
85.  Arrow-shaped  flake  from  Ireland.     It  is  worked  up  at  tho  butt  end,  as 
if  intended  for  a  handle. 

Catalogue  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  72. 
86-88.  Flakes  from  a  Danish  shell-mound,  actual  size. 
In  my  own  collection. 

89.  Minute  flint  flake  from  Denmark,  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

90.  Sections  of  flakes,     a  Is  that  of  a  simple  triangular  flake  ;  h  is  that  of  a 

large  flat  flake  split  ofi"  the  angle  from  which  the  smaller  flake  a  had 
been  previously  taken.     Consequently  the  section  is  four-sided. 

91.  North  American  two-bladed  knife,  made  of  two  flakes. 

Roliquiaj  Aquitanicac,  p.  43,  fig.  16. 

92.  Aastialians  making  flakes. 

Geol.  and  Nat.  His.  Repertory.     May,  1866, 


DESCRIPTION    OP    THE    FIGURES.  XXlll 

93.  Australian  flake,  one-half  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 
91.  Flake  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 
95.  Head  of  New  Caledonian  Javelin,  one-half  actual  size. 

In  my  o^^ti  collection. 
06.  New  Caledonian  Javelin,  one-sixth  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

97.  Stone  celt  or  hatchet.    It  is  formed  of  fclstone,  is  5f  inches  long  and  2 

broad. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  41. 

98.  Stone  celt  or  hatchet,  actual  size.     Found  in  the  river  Shannon.  One  of 

the  emallest  yet  found  in  Ireland. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  45. 

99.  Stone  celt  with  a  wooden  handle,  Monaghan,  Ireland. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  46. 

100.  Stone  celt  with  wooden  handle,  one-tliird  actual  size.     Concise.     From 

Desor. ' 

101.  102.  Danish  axe,  re-ground.     One-half  actual  size. 

From  my  own  collection. 
103.  Skin -scraper  from  Bourdeilles  in  the  south  of  France,  actual  size. 

Found  by  me. 
101.  Ditto  under  side. 

105-107.  Skin-scrapcr  used  by  the  modem  Esquimaux  of  the  Polar  basin, 
within  Bchring's  Straits,  actual  size.  It  was  fastened  into  a  handle 
of  fossil  ivory.     In  the  Christy  Museum. 

108.  Flint  axe  from  the  shell-mound  at  Meilgaard,  in  Jutland,  actual  size 

Upper  surfiice. 

109.  Ditto,  under  surface. 

110.  Ditto,  side  view. 

In  my  own  collection. 

111.  Modem  New  Zealand  adze,  actual  size.     Upper  surface. 

In  the  British  Museum.  • 

112.  Ditto,  under  surface. 

113.  Ditto,  side  view. 

The  New  Zealand  adze  is  partially  polished ;  this  is  not  the  case 
with  the  Danish  adze,  because  flint  naturally  breaks  with  a 
smooth  surface.  The  projection  a,  in  fig.  110,  is  accidental, 
and  owing  to  some  flaw  in  the  flint.  They  generally  have  the 
under  side  as  flat  as  in  fig.  113. 

114.  Hollow  chisel  from  Denmark. 

In  my  o'wn  collection. 

115.  Danish  dagger. 

In  my  own  collection. 

116.  Flint  dagger,  one-half  of  the  actual  size.     This  beautiful  specimen  was 

found  in  a  large  tumulus  with  a  second  imperfect  dagger,  a  rude«flint 
core,  an   imperfect  crescent-shaped   knife,    one   or  two  flakes,  two 
amber  beads,  and  some  bits  of  pottery.     Denmark. 
In  my  own  collection. 


XXIV  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    FIGURES. 

117.  Another  form  of  flint  dapger.     Also  from  Denmark. 

In  my  own  collection. 

118.  Oval  tool-stone. 

Cat.  of  Roval  Irisli  Academy,  p.  91. 

119.  Triangular  flint  arrow-head,  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  19. 

120.  Indented  flint  arrow-head,  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  20. 

121.  Barbed  flint  arrow-head,  actual  size. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  22. 

122.  Leaf-shaped  flint  arrow-head,  actual  size.     Showing  the  gradual  passage 

into  the  spear-head. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  22. 

123.  French  an-ow-head,  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

124.  North  American  arrow-head,  actual  size. 

In  my  o\vn  collection. 

125.  Fuegian  arrow-head,  actual  size. 

From  Nilsson's  Stone  Age. 

126.  Stone  saw  in  wooden  handle.     S^vitzerland,  one -half  actual  size. 

After  Keller. 

127.  Bone  pin  or  awl  from  Scotland,  actual  size. 

128.  Bone  chisel,  actua,!  size.     From  Wangen  on  the  lake  of  Constance. 

In  my  O'n^'ti  collection. 

129.  Bone  harpoon,  actual  size. 

Afb.  af  Danske  Old  og  Minnesmaerker,  5  Heft. 

130.  Ancient  bone  harpoon,  actual  size.     Dordogne. 

After  Christy  and  Lartet. 

131.  Bone  scraper.     North  America. 

Ealiquise  Aquitanicoc,  part  5,  p.  -13,  fig.  26. 

132.  A  tumulus  of  the  Stone  Age,  at  Roddinge  in  Denmark.  It  contains  two 

chambers. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  pi.  4. 

133.  Ground  plan  of  ditto. 

134.  Stone  circle,  Denmark. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det  Knog.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  pi.  1. 

135.  Dolmen,  Denmark. 

136.  Stone  circle. 

Nordiske  Oldsager  i  det  Kong.  Mus.  i  Kjobenhavn,  pi.  2. 

137.  Kit's  Coty  House,  near  Maidstone. 

After  Col.  Forbes  Leslie.     Early  Races  of  Scotland. 

138.  Carnac,  Brittany. 

From  a  drawing  by  Dr.  Hooker,  F.R.S. 

139.  Indian  Dolmen. 

After  Capt.  Meadows  Taylor. 

140.  Jndian  Dolmen.     Ditto. 

141.  Summer  and  winter  dwellings  in  Kamschatka. 

Atlas  to  Cook's  Voyage,  pi.  77. 
141*.  Laplander's  Gamrac  or  hut. 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    FIGURES.  XXV 

112.  Kumbecephaiic  skull  from  Derbyshire. 

After  Batcman.     Ten  Years'  Diggings,  p.  14-6. 

143.  Ground  plan  of  a  sepulchral  chamber  in  a  large  tumulus  on  the  island 

of  Moen. 

Ann.  for  Nordiske  Old  Kyndighed,  1858,  p.  20i. 

144.  Brachycephalic  skull  from  the  above  tumulus,  one-quarter  of  the  natural 

size. 

145.  Ditto,  side  view. 

I  am  indebted  for  these  two  drawings  to  the  kindness  of  my 
friend  Mr.  Busk. 

146.  Interior  of  the  sepulchral  chamber  in  the  long  barrow  near  West  Kennet, 

in  Wiltshire. 

Ai'chajologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

147.  Flint  scraper  from  the  above  tumulus,  two-thirds  of  the  actual  size. 

Archaoologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

148.  Flint  scraper  from  the  above  tumulus,  two-thirds  of  the  actual  size. 

Archajologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

149.  Flint  flake  from  the  above  tumulus,  two-thirds  of  the  actual  size. 

Archaoologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

150.  Flint  implement  from  the  above  tumulus,  two-thirds   of  the   actual 

size. 

Archacologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

151.  Fragment  of  pottery  from  the  above  tumulus,  two-thirds  of  the  actual 

size. 

Archseologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

152.  Fragment  of  pottery  from  the  above  tumulus,  actual  size. 

Archacologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 
153-5.  Fragments  of  potteiy  from  the  above  tumulus,  two-thirds  of  the  actual 
size. 

Archseologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

156.  Fragment  of  pottery,  actual  size. 

Archacologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

157.  Um  from  Flaxdale  barrow.     The  original  is  14  inches  in  height. 

Batoman's  Ten  Years'  Diggings  in  Celtic  and  Saxon  Gravchills, 
p.  280. 

158.  159.  Two  vases  from  Arbor  Low,  in  Derbyshire. 

Bateman's  Ten  Years'  Diggings  in  Celtic  and  Saxon  Gravchills, 
p.  283. 

160.  Drinking  cup  from  Green  Low. 

Bateman's  Ten  Years'  Diggings  in  Celtic  and  Saxon  Gravchills, 
p.  286. 

161.  Sculptures  on  the  Lower  Rock  at  Auchnabrcach,  Argyllshire. 

After  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson.     Proc.  Soc.  Ant.  Sc,  vol.  vi.  p.  23. 

162.  Crannoge  in  Ardakillin  Lough,  near  Stokestown,  county  of  Roscommon- 

It  is  constructed  of  stones  and  oak  piling.  The  top  lino  shows  the 
former  highest  water  level,  the  second  that  of  the  ordinary  winter 
flood,  the  third  the  summer  level. 

163.  Section  of  the  lake-dwelling  at  Niederwyl. 

From  Leo's  Keller,  pi.  xvi.  fig.  2. 


XXVi  DESCRIPTION   OF    THE    FIGURES. 

164.  Swiss  axe  of  serpentine,  actual  size.     From  Wangen  on  the  Lake  of 

Constance. 

In  my  o^vn  collection. 

165.  Spindle  wharl,  actual  size.     From  Wangen  on  the  Lake  of  Constance. 

In  my  own  collection. 

166.  Piece  of  pottery,  showing  the  impressions  of  the  finger-tip,  and  the 

marks  of  the  nail,  actual  size.     Lake  of  Zurich. 

168.  Piece  of  tissue,  actual  size.     From  Robenhausen. 

Ifl  my  own  collection. 

169.  Portion  of  the  vertebra  of  a  cow. 

170.  Corresponding  ditto  of  a  bison. 

171.  Bronze  pin,  actual  size. 

Found  in  a  shell-mound  near  Elgin,  and  now  in  the  museum  at 
that  place. 

172.  Flint  awl  from  Denmark,  actual  size. 

After  Worsaae. 

173.  Lance-head  ?  from  Denmark,  actiial  size. 

After  Worsaae. 

174.  Lance-head  ?  from  Denmark,  actual  size. 

After  Worsaae. 

175.  Lance-head  ?  from  Denmark,  actual  size. 

After  Worsaae. 

176.  Eude  flint  axe  from  Denmark,  actual  size. 

After  Worsaae. 

177.  Copper  arrow  or  spsar  head,  Cincinnati,  one-third  actual  size. 

Whittlesey.     Boston  Soc.  of  Nat.  His.,  vol.  i.  pi.  IG,  fig.  6. 

178.  Copper  lance-head,  Ontarragon,  one-third  actual  size. 

Whittlesey.     Boston  Soc.  of  Nat.  His.,  vol.  i.  pi.  16,  fig.  4. 

179.  Molar  tooth  of  E.  antiquus,  one-third  actual  size. 

After  Lyell. 

180.  Molar  tooth  of  the  mammoth,  one-third  actual  size. 

After  Lyell. 

181.  Flat  stone  implement  of  uncertain  use,  actual  size. 

From  the  cave  at  La  Madelaine. 

182.  Stone  implement,  resembling  in  some  respects  those  characteristic  of 

the  drift  gravels,  actual  size.     From  Moustier.    In  my  own  collec- 
tion. 

183.  Ditto,  seen  from  the  side. 

18 1.  Ditto,  seen  from  the  other  side. 

185.  A  cylindrical  piece  of  reindeer  horn,  on  which  are  engraved  two  out- 

lines of  fishes,  one  on  each  side.     La  Madelaine,  Dordogne. 
After  Lartct  and  Christy. 

186.  Piece  of  the  palm  of  a  reindeer's  antler,  on  which  is  engraved  the  head 

and  neck  of  an  ibex.     Laugerie  Basse,  Dordogne. 
After  Lartet  and  Christy. 

187.  Group  of  figures.     Doi-dogne. 

After  Lartet  and  Christy. 

188.  Group  of  reindeer. 

From  a  photograph  presented  to  me  by  the  Marquis  de  Vibraye. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    FIGURES.  XXVl'l 

189.  Poniard  of  reindeer  horn. 

From  tbe  cave  at  Laugerie  Basse. 

190.  The  Engis  skull,  seen  from  above. 

191.  Ditto,  seen  from  the  front. 

Huxley's  Man's  Place  in  Nature,  p.  126. 

192.  The  Neanderthal  skull,  seen  from  tbe  side,  one-half  natural  size. 

193.  Ditto,  seen  from  the  front,  one-halt  natural  size. 
191.  Ditto,  seen  from  above,  one-half  natural  size. 

Huxley's  Man's  Place  in  Nature,  p.  139. 
The  outlines  from  camera  lucida  drawings  by  Mr.  Busk ;  the  details 
from  a  cast  and  from  Dr.  Fuhlrott's  i)hotograpb3.     a  glabella ; 
b  occipital  protuboranca  ;  cl  lambdoidal  suture. 

195.  Rude  flint  implement  from  the  drift  gravel  at  Hoxno,  one-half  actual  size 

After  Frere.     Archaeologia,  1800,  pi.  xy. 

196.  Ditto,  sido  view. 

197.  Another  specimen. 

After  Frere.     Archaeologia,  1800,  p.  xv. 

198.  Ditto,  side  view. 

199.  Stone  implement,  Madras. 

From  a  specimen  found  and  presented  to  mo  by  Mr.  Bruce  Foot. 

200.  Another  stone  implement,  Madras. 

From  a  specimen  found  and  presented  to  me  by  Mr.  Bruce  Foot. 

201.  Section  across  the  valley  of  the  Somme  at  Abbeville,  after  Prestwich  j 

the  proportion  of  the  length  is  reduced  to  one-third. 

202.  Section  at  St.  Acheul,  near  Amiens. 

a.  Brick  earth  with  a  few  angular  flints. 
h.  Red  angular  gravel. 

c.  Marly  sand,  with  land  and  freshwater  shells. 

d.  Gi"ey  subangular  gravel,  in  which  the  flint  implements  are  found. 

e.  Coffin. 
/.   Tomb. 

203.  Section  taken  in  a  pit  close  to  the  Joinville  station. 

b.  Red  angular  gravel,  containing  a  very  large  sandstone  block. 
d.  Grey  subangular  gravel. 

204!.  Diagram  to  illustrate  deposit  of  loess  and  gravel. 

a'  Loess  corresponding  to  and  contemporaneous  with  the  gravel  a. 
b'  Loess  „  „  „  „  b. 

c'  Loess  ,,  „  „  „  c. 

1.  Level  of  valley  at  period  a. 

2.  Level  of  valley  at  period  b. 

3.  Level  of  valley  at  present. 

205.  Australian  knife. 

From  a  specimen  presented  to  me  by  A.  W.  Franks,  Esq. 

206.  Australian  club,  one-fifth  of  the  actual  size. 

207.  Australian  spear  and  spear  caster. 

After  Eyre. 

208.  Australian  boomerang,  one-sixth  of  the  actual  size. 

209.  Tasmiinian  fire-sticks,  one-third  actual  size. 

From  specimens  presented  to  me  by  Mr.  Robinson. 


XXVm  DESCRIPTION    OF   THE    FIGURES. 

210.  New  Zealand  patoo  patoo,  one-fourth  of  the  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

211.  Stone  axe  with  wooden  handle,  one-fourth  of  the  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

212.  South  Sea  axe  of  ceremony. 

In  my  own  collection. 

213.  South  Sea  fish-hook,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

214.  Esquimaux  knife. 

In  my  o^vn  collection,  from  a  specimen   presented  to  me   by 
Mr.  Flower. 

215.  216.  Esquimaux  knife. 

In  my  own  collection. 

217.  Esquimaux  arrow-head,  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

218.  Esquimaux  spear-head,  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

219.  Esquimaux  bone-harpoon,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

220.  Esquimaux  cheek-stud  of  stone. 

In  my  own  collection,  presented  by  Dr.  Rao. 
221-3.  Drawings  on  Esquimaux  bone  implements. 

Presented  to  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  by  Captain  Beechey,  1832. 

224.  Dacotah  fire-drill-bow. 

From  Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes. 

225.  Iroquois  fire-pump-drill. 

From  Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes. 

226.  Fuegian  harpoon,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

In  my  own  collection. 

227.  Ogham  stone.     Found  in  Kerry. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  135. 

228.  Ogham  st:ne.     Found  in  Kerry. 

Cat.  of  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  135. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  PLATES. 


The  three  great  tumuli  at  Upsala,  popularly  supposed  to  be  those  of  Odin, 

Thor,  and  Freya.     (Frontispiece.) 
Diagram  of  Abury.     (To  face  page  119.) 

Plate  I.     (To  face  page  75.) 

Fig.  1.  A  flint  axe  from  a  tumulus,  one-third  of  the  actual  size. 

2.  Another  form  of  stone  axe,  with  a  hole  for  a  handle,  one-tliird  of  the 

actual  size. 

3.  A  flint  saw,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

4.  A  flint  dagger,  one -sixth  of  the  actual  size. 

5.  A  flint  chisel,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

6.  One  of  the  "cores"  from  which  the  flint  flakes  are  splintered,  one- 

half  of  the  actual  size. 

7.  One  of  the  flakes,  one-half  of  the  actual  size. 

8.  9.  Rude  axes  from  the  Kjokenmodding  at  Havelso,  one-half  of  the 

actual  size. 

10.  Flint  axe  from  drift  at  Moulin  Quignon,  near  Abbeville,  one-half  of 

the  actunl  size. 

11.  Flint  aie  from  Abbeville,  showing  that  the  part  stained  white  is 

parallel  to  the  present  surfaces,  and  that  the  weathering  has  taken 
place  since  the  flint  was  worked  into  its  present  shape ;  one-half  of 
the  actual  size. 
12.  Slingstoue  from  the  Kjokkenmodding  at  Havelse,  one-half  of  the 
actual  size. 

Plate  II.     (To  face  page  334.) 

Sketch  of  mammoth,  on  a  piece  of  ivory  found  at  La  Madelaine  in  the 
Dordogne. 

Plate  III.     (To  face  page  342.) 

A  flint  implement  found  near  Abbeville,  slightly  reduced. 
In  my  own  collection. 
The  artist  has  been  so  careful  to  present  a  faithful  image  of  this 
specimen,    that     he    has     even    copied    exactly    my    rough 
memorandum  as  to  the  place  and  date  of  its  discovery. 


PRE-HISTORIC    TIMES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

THE  first  appearance  of  Man  in  Europe  dates  from  a 
period  so  remote,  that  neither  history,  nor  even  tra- 
dition, can  throw  any  light  on  his  origin,  or  mode  of  life. 
Under  these  circumstances,  some  have  supposed  that  the 
past  is  hidden  from  the  present  by  a  veil,  which  time  will 
probably  thicken,  but  never  can  remove.  Thus  our  pre- 
historic antiquities  have  been  valued  as  monuments  of  ancient 
skill  and  perseverance,  not  regarded  as  pages  of  ancient 
history  ;  recognized  as  interesting  vignettes,  not  as  historical 
pictures.  Some  writers  have  assured  us  that,  in  the  words 
of  Palgrave,  "  We  must  give  it  up,  that  speechless  past ; 
whether  fact  or  chronology,  doctrine  or  mythology ;  whether 
in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  or  America ;  at  Thebes  or  Palenque, 
on  Lycian  shore  or  Salisbury  Plain  :  lost  is  lost ;  gone  is 
gone  for  ever."  Others  have  taken  a  more  hopeful  view, 
but  in  attempting  to  reconstruct  the  story  of  the  past,  they 
have  too  often  allowed  imagination  to  usurp  the  place  of 
research,  and  have  written  in  the  spirit  of  the  novelist,  rather 
than  in  that  of  the  philosopher. 

Of  late  years,  however,  a  new  branch  of  knowledge  has 
3 


Z  DIVISION   OP   PRE-mSTOEIC 

arisen ;  a  new  Science  has,  so  to  say,  been  born  among  us, 
which  deals  with  times  and  events  far  more  ancient  than  any 
which  have  yet  fallen  within  tKe  province  of  the  archaeologist. 
The  geologist  reckons  not  by  days  or  by  years ;  the  whole  six 
thousand  years,  which  were  until  lately  looked  on  as  the  sum 
of  the  world's  existence,  are  to  him  but  one  unit  of  measure- 
ment in  the  long  succession  of  past  ages.  Our  knowledge 
of  geology  is,  of  course,  very  incomplete ;  on  some  questions 
we  shall  no  doubt  see  reason  to  change  our  opinion,  but  on  the 
whole,  the  conclusions  to  which  it  points  are  as  definite  as 
those  of  zoology,  chemistry,  or  any  of  the  kindred  sciences. 
Nor  does  there  appear  to  be  any  reason  why  those  methods  of 
examination  which  have  proved  so  successful  in  geology, 
should  not  also  be  used  to  throw  light  on  the  history  of  man 
in  pre-historic  times.  Archaeology  forms,  in  fact,  the  link 
between  geology  and  history.  It  is  true  that  in  the  case  of 
other  animals  we  can,  from  their  bones  and  teeth,  form,  a 
definite  idea  of  their  habits  and  mode  of  life,  while  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge  the  skeleton  of  a  savage  could 
not  always  be  distinguished  from  that  of  a  philosopher.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  while  other  animals  leave  only  teeth  and 
bones  behind  them,  the  men  of  past  ages  are  to  be  studied 
principally  by  theii'  works ;  houses  for  the  living,  tombs  for 
the  dead,  fortifications  for  defence,  temples  for  worship, 
implements  for  use,  and  ornaments  for  decoration. 

From  the  careful  study  of  the  remains  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  it  would  appear  that  Pre-historic  Archseology 
may  be  divided  into  four  great  epochs. 

I.  That  of  the  Drift;  when  man  shared  the  possession 
of  Europe  with  the  Mammoth,  the  Cave  bear,  the  Woolly- 
haired  rhinoceros,  and  other  extinct  animals.  This  we  may 
call  the  "  Palgeolithic"  period. 

II.  The  later  or  polished  Stone  Age;  a  period  cha- 
racterized by  beautiful  weapons  and  instruments  made  of 


ARCHAEOLOGY    INTO    FOUR    PERIODS.  8 

flint  and  other  kinds  of  stone ;  in  wliicli,  however^  we  find 
no  trace  of  the  knowledge  of  any  metal,  excepting  gold, 
which  seems  to  have  been  sometimes  used  for  ornaments. 
This  we  may  call  the  "  Neolithic  "  period. 

III.  The  Bronze  Age,  in  which  bronze  was  used  for  arms 
and  cutting  instruments  of  all  kinds. 

rV.  The  Iron  Age,  in  which  that  metal  had  superseded 
bronze  for  arms,  axes,  knives,  etc. ;  bronze,  however,  still 
being  in  common  use  for  ornaments,  and  frequently  also 
for  the  handles  of  swords  and  other  arms,  though  never  for 
the  blades. 

Stone  weapons,  however,  of  many  kinds  were  still  in  use 
during  the  Age  of  Bronze,  and  even  during  that  of  Iron, 
so  that  the  mere  presence  of  a  few  stone  implements  is  not 
in  itself  sufiicient  evidence  that  any  given  "  find  "  belongs 
to  the  Stone  Age.  In  order  to  prevent  misapprehension,  it 
may  also  be  well  to  state,  at  once,  that,  for  the  present,  I  only 
apply  this  classification  to  Europe,  though,  in  all  probability, 
it  might  be  extended  also  to  the  neighbouring  regions  of  Asia 
and  Africa.  As  regards  other  civilized  countries,  China  and 
Japan  for  instance,  we,  as  yet,  know  nothing  of  their  pre- 
historic archaeology.  It  is  evident,  also,  that  some  nations, 
such  as  the  Fuegians,  Andamaners,  etc.,  are  even  now,  or 
were  very  lately,  in  an  Age  of  Stone. 

It  is  probable  that  gold  was  the  metal  which  first  attracted 
the  attention  of  man;  it  is  found  in  many  rivers,  and  by 
its  bright  colour  would  certainly  attract  even  the  rudest 
savages,  who  are  known  to  be  very  fond  of  personal  deco- 
ration. Silver  does  not  appear  to  have  been  discovered 
until  long  after  gold,  and  was  apparently  preceded  by  both 
copper  and  tin,  as  it  is  rarely,  if  ever  *,  found  in  tumuli  of 
the  Bronze  Age ;  but,  however  this  may  be,  copper  seems  to 
have  been  the  metal  which  first  became  of  real  importance  to 
*  Horae  ferales,  p.  60. 


4  PIEST    DISCOVERY    OF    METAL. 

man :  no  doubt  owing  to  the  fact  that  its  ores  are  abundant 
in  many  countries,  and  can  be  smelted  without  difficulty; 
and  that,  while  iron  is  hardly  ever  found  except  in  the  form 
of  ore,  copper  often  occurs  in  a  native  condition,  and  can 
be  beaten  at  once  into  shape.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  North 
American  Indians  obtained  pure  copper  from  the  mines  near 
Lake  Superior  and  elsewhere,  and  hammered  it  at  once  into 
axes,  bracelets,  and  other  objects. 

Tin  also  early  attracted  notice,  probably  on  account  of  the 
great  heaviness  of  its  ores.  AVhen  metals  were  very  scarce,  it 
would  naturally  sometimes  happen  that,  in  order  to  make  up 
the  necessary  quantity,  some  tin  would  be  added  to  copper, 
or  vice  versa.  It  would  then  be  found  that  the  properties  of 
the  alloy  were  quite  different  from  those  of  either  metal,  and 
a  very  few  experiments  would  determine  the  most  advan- 
tageous proportion,  which  for  axes  and  other  cutting  instru- 
ments is  about  nine  parts  of  copper  to  one  of  tin.  No 
implements  or  weapons  of  tin  have  yet  been  found,  and 
those  of  copper  are  extremely  rare,  whence  it  has  been  in- 
ferred that  the  art  of  making  bronze  was  known  elsewhere, 
before  the  use  of  either  was  introduced  into  Europe.  Many 
of  the  so-caUed  "  copper '^  axes,  etc.,  contain  a  small  pro- 
portion of  tin;  and  the  few  exceptions  indicate  probably  a 
mere  temporary  want,  rather  than  a  total  ignorance,  of  this 
metal. 

The  ores  of  iron,  though  more  abundant,  are  much  less 
striking  in  appearance  than  those  of  copper.  Moreover, 
though  they  are  perhaps  more  easily  reduced,  the  metal,  when 
obtained,  is  much  less  tractable  than  bronze.  This  valuable 
alloy  can  very  easily  be  cast,  and,  in  fact,  all  the  weapons  and 
implements  made  of  it  in  olden  times  were  cast  in  moulds  of 
sand  or  stone.  The  art  of  casting  iron,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  unknown  until  a  comparatively  late  period. 

In  the  writings  of  the  early  poets,  iron  is  frequently  charac- 


ALLUSIONS    TO    BRONZE    IN   ANCIENT   WRITERS.  5 

terized  by  the  epithet  7ro\vK/j,r]To^,  and  its  adjective,  o-tS?;peo9j 
is  used  metaphorically  to  imply  the  greatest  stubbornness. 

While,  however,  these  facts  tend  very  much  to  remove  the 
a  priori  improbability  that  a  compound  and  comparatively 
expensive  material  like  bronze  should  have  been  in  general 
use  before  such  a  common  metal  as  iron,  we  must,  of  course, 
seek  elsewhere  for  evidence  of  the  fact. 

Hesiod,  who  is  supposed  to  have  written  about  900  B.C., 
and  who  is  the  earliest  European  author  whose  works  have 
come  down  to  us,  appears  to  have  lived  during  the  transition 
between  the  Bronze  and  Iron  Ages.  He  distinctly  states 
that  iron  was  discovered  after  copper  and  tin.  Speaking  of 
those  who  were  ancient,  even  in  his  day,  he  says  that  they 
used  bronze,  and  not  iron. 

T0t9  B'^v  ')(a\icea  fikv  rev^ea.  jfakKeoi  Se  re  oIkol, 
-^aXKm  8'  elpyd^ovTO  /ieXa?  S'  ovk  eWe  (TiBijpo^;. 
His  poems,  as  well  as  those  of  Homer,  show  that  nearly  three 
thousand  years  ago,  the  value  of  iron  was  known  and  appre- 
ciated. It  is  true  that,  as  we  read  in  Dr.  Smith's  Dictionary 
of  Greek  and  Eoman  Antiquities,  bronze  "  is  represented  in 
the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  as  the  common  material  of  arms,  in- 
struments, and  vessels  of  various  sorts;  the  latter  (iron)  is 
mentioned  much  more  rarely."  While,  however,  the  above 
statement  is  strictly  correct,  we  must  remember  that  among 
the  Greeks  the  word  iron  (crtSjypo?)  was  used,  even  in  the 
time  of  Homer,  as  synonymous  with  a  sword,  and  that  steel 
also  appears  to  have  been  known  to  them  under  the  name  of 
aBdjxa^,  and  perhaps  also  of  Kvavo<i,  as  early  as  the  time  of 
Hesiod.  We  may,  therefore,  consider  that  the  Trojan  war 
took  place  during  the  period  of  transition  from  the  Bronze 
to  the  Iron  Age. 

In  the  Pentateuch,  excluding  Deuteronomy,  bronze,  or  as 
it  is  unfortunately  translated,  brass,  is  mentioned  thirty- 
eight  times,  and  iron  only  four  times. 


6  LUCRETIUS. 

Lucretius  distinctly  mentions  the  three  ages.     He  says,— 

Anna  antiqua,  manus,  ungues,  dentesque  fuerunt 
Et  lapides,  et  item  sylvarum  fragmina  rami, 
Posterius  ferri  vis  est,  ajrisque  reperta, 
Sed  prior  a^ris  erat,  quam  ferri  cognitus  usus*. 

Coming  down  to  more  modem  times,  Eccardf  in  1750, 
and  Goguet  in  1758 J,  mention  the  three  latter  ages  in  plain 
terms  §;  the  same  idea  runs  through  Borlase^s  History  of 
Cornwall,  and  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  also  expresses  the 
opinion  that  instruments  of  iron  "  denote  a  much  later 
period  "  than  those  of  bronze. 

To  the  Northern  archaeologists,  however — especially  to  Mr. 
Thomson,  the  founder  of  the  Museum  at  Copenhagen,  and  to 
Professor  Nilsson — must  be  ascribed  the  merit  of  having  raised 
these  suggestions  to  the  rank  of  a  scientific  classification. 

The  date  of  the  introduction  of  iron  into  the  North  of 
Europe  cannot  at  present  be  satisfactorily  ascertained  ; 
nevertheless  it  is  most  likely  that  the  use  of  this  metal 
spread  rapidly.  Not  only  does  it  seem  a  ^priori  probable 
that  such  an  important  discovery  would  have  done  so,  but 
it  is  evident  that  the  same  commercial  organization  which 
had  already  carried  the  tin  of  Cornwall  all  over  our  con- 
tinent, would  equally  facilitate  the  transmission  of  iron,  as 
soon  as  that  even  more  useful  metal  was  discovered  and 
rendered  available.  However  this  may  be,  the  soldiers  of 
Brennus  were  provided  with  iron  swords,  and  when  the 
armies  of  Rome  brought  the  civilization  of  the  South  into 
contact  with  that  of  the  North,  they  found  the  value  of  iron 
already  well  known  to,  and  in  general  use  among,  their  new 
enemies.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that  arms  of 
bronze  were  also  at  that  time  still  in  use  in  the  North,  for,  had 

*  V.  1282.  ties  Arts  et  des  Sciences.   See  Ch.  iv. 

t  Eccard.    De  Origine  et  Moribus  and  the  preface. 
Germanormn.  §  See  Rhind  in  Arch.  Ins.  Jour.  V. 

X  Goguet.     De  I'Origine  des  Loia,  xiii. 


TIEFENAU. 


this  been  so,  they  would  certainly  have  been  mentioned  by  the 
Roman  writers ;  whereas  the  description  given  by  Tacitus  of 
the  Caledonian  weapons  shows  that  in  his  time  the  swords  used 
in  Scotland  were  made  of  iron.  Moreover  there  are  several 
cases  in  which  large  quantities  of  arms  belonging  to  the  Roman 
period  have  been  found  together,  and  in  which  the  arms  and 
implements  are  all  of  iron.  This  argument  is  in  its  very  nature 
cumulative,  and  cannot  therefore  be  fully  developed  here, 
but  out  of  many,  I  will  mention  a  few  cases  in  illustration. 

Some  years  ago,  an  old  battle-field  was  discovered  at 
Tiefenau,  near  Berne,  and  described  by  M.  Jahn.  On  it 
were  found  a  great  number  of  objects  made  of  iron ;  such 
as  fragments  of  chariots,  bits  for  horses,  wheels,  pieces  of 
coats  of  mail,  and  arms  of  various  sorts,  including  no  less 
than  a  hundred  two-handed  swords.  All  of  these  were 
made  of  iron,  but  with  them  were  several  fibulae  of  bronze, 
and  some  coins,  of  which  about  thirty  were  of  bronze,  struck 
at  Marseilles,  and  presenting  a  head  of  Apollo  on  one  side 
and  a  bull  on  the  other,  both  good  specimens  of  Greek  art. 
The  rest  were  silver  pieces,  also  struck  at  Marseilles.  These 
coins,  and  the  absence  of  any  trace  of  Roman  influence,  suffi- 
ciently indicate  the  antiquity  of  these  interesting  remains. 

A  very  similar  collection  of  antiquities  has  been  obtained 
from  the  ancient  lake-village  near  La  Tene,  on  the  Lake  of 
Neufchatel.  This  interesting  locality  will  be  referred  to 
again  in  the  chapter  on  Swiss  lake- villages,  and  I  will  here 
only  observe  that  50  swords,  5  axes,  4  knives,  and  23  lances 
have  been  discovered,  but  not  a  single  weapon  of  bronze. 
Nine  coins  have  been  also  found  here,  while  not  a  single  one 
has  been  met  with  in  any  of  the  Stone  Age  or  Bronze  Age 
villages.  Yet  the  Gauls  had  a  coinage  of  their  own  300  years 
before  Christ,  and  in  our  own  country,  as  Mr.  Evans*  has 
well  shown,  about  150  years  later. 

*  The  Coins  of  the  Ancient  Britons,  1864,  by  John  Evans,  Esq.,  F.R.S. 


8  FIND  OP   IRON   OBJECTS   AT 

Some  very  interesting  ''finds"  of  articles  belonging  to 
the  Iron  Age  have  been  made  in  the  peat  bogs  of  Slesvick, 
and  described  by  M.  Engolhardt,  Curator  of  the  Museum  at 
Flensborg.  One  of  these,  in  the  Moss  of  Nydam,  comprises 
clothes,  sandals,  brooches,  tweezers,  beads,  helmets,  shields, 
shield  bosses,  breastplates,  coats  of  mail,  buckles,  swordbelts, 
sword  sheaths,  100  swords,  500  spears,  30  axes,  40  awls,  160 
arrows,  80  knives,  various  articles  of  horse  gear,  wooden 
rakes,  mallets,  vessels,  wheels,  pottery,  coins,  etc.  Without 
a  single  exception,  all  the  weapons  and  cutting  implements 
are  made  of  iron,  though  bronze  was  freely  used  for  brooches 
and  other  similar  articles*. 

In  the  summer  of  1862,  M.  Engelhardt  found  in  the  same 
field  a  ship,  or  rather  a  large  flat-bottomed  boat,  seventy 
feet  in  length,  three  feet  deep  in  the  middle,  and  eight  or 
nine  feet  wide.  The  sides  are  of  oak  boards,  overlapping 
one  another,  and  fastened  together  by  iron  bolts.  On  the 
inner  side  of  each  board  are  several  projections,  which  are 
not  made  from  separate  pieces,  but  were  left  when  the  boards 
were  cut  out  of  the  solid  timber.  Each  of  these  projections 
has  two  small  holes,  through  which  ropes,  made  of  the  inner 
bark  of  trees,  were  passed,  in  order  to  fasten  the  sides  of  the 
boat  to  the  ribs.  The  rowlocks  are  formed  by  a  projecting 
horn  of  wood,  under  which  is  an  orifice,  so  that  a  rope, 
fastened  to  the  horn  and  passing  through  the  orifice,  leaves 
a  space  through  which  the  oar  played.  There  appear  to 
have  been  about  fifty  pairs  of  oars,  of  which  sixteen  have\ 
already  been  discovered.  The  bottom  of  the  boat  was 
covered  by  matting.  I  visited  the  spot  about  a  week  after 
the  boat  had  been  discovered,  but  was  unable  to  see  much 
of  it,  as  it  had  been  taken  to  pieces,  and  the  boards,  etc., 

*  See  Lubbock  in  Nat.  Hist.  Rev.  the  pleasure  of  visiting  this  interest- 

Oct.  1863,  and   Stephens    in    Gent.  ing  spot  with  M.  Engelhardt  in  1862. 

Mag.  Dec.  1863.  On  one  of  the  arrows  See  also  "  Denmark  in  the  Eai'ly  Iron 

were  some  Eunic  characters.     I  had  Age,"  by  C.  Engelhardt. 


NYDAM    IN    SLESVICK. 


were  covered  over  with  straw  and  peat,  that  they  might  diy 
slowly.  In  this  manner,  M.  Engelhardt  hoped  that  they 
would  perhaps,  at  least  in  part,  retain  their  original  shape. 
The  freight  of  the  boat  consisted  of  iron  axes,  including  a 
socketed  celt  with  its  handle,  swords,  lances,  knives,brooches, 
whetstones,  wooden  vessels,  and,  oddly  enough,  two  birch 
brooms,  with  many  smaller  articles.  Only  those,  however, 
have  yet  been  found  which  remained  actually  in  the  boat ; 
and,  as  in  sinking  it  turaed  partly  over  on  its  side,  no  doubt 
many  more  articles  will  reward  the  further  explorations 
which  M.  Engelhardt  proposes  to  make.  It  is  evident  that 
this  ancient  boat  was  sunk  on  purpose,  because  there  is  a 
square  hole  about  six  inches  in  diameter  hewn  out  of  the 
bottom ;  and  it  is  possible  that  these  objects  were  sunk  as 
oSerings  to  the  Lake,  but,  on  the  whole,  it  seems  to  me 
more  probable,  that  in  some  time  of  panic  or  danger  the 
objects  contained  in  it  were  thus  hidden  by  their  owner, 
who  was  never  able  to  recover  them.  Even  in  recent  times 
of  disturbance,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  and  in  1848,  many  arms,  ornaments,  household 
utensils,  etc.,  were  so  effectually  hidden  in  the  lakes  and 
peat  mosses,  that  they  could  never  b6  found  again.  Much 
interest  is  added  to  this  vessel  and  its  contents,  by  the  fact 
that  we  can  fix  almost  their  exact  date.  The  boat  lies,  as  I 
have  already  mentioned,  within  a  few  yards  of  the  spot  where 
the  previous  discoveries  at  Nydam  were  made,  and  as  all  the 
arms  and  ornaments  exactly  correspond,  there  can  be  httle 
doubt  that  they  belong  to  the  same  period.  Now  the  pre- 
vious collection  included  nearly  fifty  Roman  coins,  ranging 
in  date  from  a.d.  67  to  a.d.  217,  and  we  cannot  therefore  be 
far  wrong  in  referring  these  remains  to  the  third  century. 

A  very  similar  discovery  has  been  made  at  Thorsbjerg  in 
the  same  neighbourhood,  but  in  this  case,  owing  to  some 
chemical  difference  in  the  peat,  the  iron  has  been  almost 


10 


OWNER  S    MARKS. 


entirely  removed.  It  may  naturaUy  be  asked  why  then  this 
should  be  quoted  as  an  instance  of  the  Iron  Age  ?  And  the 
answer  seems  quite  satisfactory.  All  the  swords,  lance- 
heads  and  axe-blades  have  disappeared,  while  the  handles  of 
bronze  or  wood  are  perfectly  preserved,  and  as  the  orna- 
ments and  other  objects  of  bronze  are  well  preserved,  it  is 
evident  that  the  swords,  etc.,  were  not  of  that  metal ;  and  it 
is  therefore  reasonable  to  conclude  that  they  were  of  iron, 
more  especially  as  the  whole  character  of  the  objects  resem- 
bles that  of  those  found  at  Nydam,  and  the  coins,  which  are 
about  as  numerous  as  those  from  the  lattei  place,  range  from 
60  A.D.  to  A.T),  197;  so  that  these  two  gr6at  "finds  "  may  be 
regarded  as  almost  contemporaneous. 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


Fig.  3. 


f   1 

V 

i 

X 

t  - 

/x 

X 

•It 

M 

// 

> 

M 

) 

X 

Not  only  are  the  weapons  in  these  finds  all  of  iron,  but 


INSCRIPTIONS   AT   NYDAM.  11 

their  forms  and  the  character  of  the  ornamentation  are  very- 
different  from  those  of  the  Bronze  Age  ;  resembling  in  some 
respects  Roman  arms,  in  others  they  are  quite  pecuhar,  and 
evidently  representative  of  northern  art. 

Many  of  the  arrows  had  owner's  marks  on  them  (figs.  1  and 
3)  resembling  those  on  the  modern  Esquimaux  arrows  (fig.  2). 
The  Nydam  swords  also  bear  seven  inscriptions ;  three  of 
them  are  illegible,  the  others  are  "  ricus,  riccim,  cocillus,  and 
umored."  On  the  umbo  of  one  of  the  shields  is  inscribed,  in 
dotted  Roman  letters,  AEL.  AELIAl^US ;  while  another  one 
has  a  short  Runic*  inscription,  which  Mr.  Haigh  reads  as 
Aisc  Ah  (Aisc  owns)  f;  two  figures  resembling  Runic  letters 
are  also  inlaid  with  golden  wire  on  one  of  the  sword  blades. 
One  of  the  Thorsbjerg  scabbards  also  has  a  Runic  inscription 
of  two  hues,  each  containing  ten  letters. 

I  particularly  dwell  on  these  cases,  because  no  inscriptions 
or  coins  have  yet  been  found  in  any  antiquities  which  can  be 
referred  to  the  Bronze  Age. 

For  the  same  reason  the  abundance  of  silver  is  very  signi- 
ficant ;  out  of  two  hundred  buckles  and  square  silver  girdle 
ornaments,  the  greater  number  are  of  bronze  plated  with 
silver,  and  silver  was  also  used  to  ornament  shield  rims, 
sandals,  brooches,  breast-plates,  sword-hilts,  sword-sheaths, 
girdles,  harness,  etc.,  as  well  as  for  clasps,  pendants,  boxes, 
and  tweezers,  while  one  helmet  was  formed  entirely  of  this 
comparatively  rare  metal. 

The  ornamentation  also  of  the  shields,  etc.,  is  of  a  character 
altogether  unlike  any  that  occurs  in  the  Bronze  Age. 

An  assemblage  of  objects  very  similar  to  those  of  Nydam  and 
Thorsbjerg  has  also  been  found  in  the  "  Vimose  "  or  "  Moss  of 
the  Temple."  It  comprises  no  less  than  1500  lance-heads, 
40  axes,  and  30  swords,  all  of  ii'on ;  abundance  of  silver ;  one 
Roman  and  three  Runic  inscriptions ;  and  a  coin  of  Faustina 
*  See  Appendix  No.  1.  Archaeological  Journal,  1863. 


12  NATURE    OF 

Junior.     Here,  again,  bronze  weapons  are  entirely  absent, 
though  bronze  was  used  for  ornaments,  etc. 

From  these  and  similar  discoveries,  it  appears  evident 
that  the  use  of  bronze  weapons  had  been  discontinued 
in  the  North  before,  probably  long  before,  the  commence- 
ment of  our  era.  From  the  ease  with  which  bronze  could  be 
worked,  this  metal  was  still  used  for  brooches  and  orna- 
ments j  but  in  the  manufacture  of  swords,  axes,  and  similar 
implements,  it  had  been  entirely  superseded  by  iron.  There 
are  many  cases  on  record  of  iron  swords  with  bronze  handles 
or  scabbards,  but  scarcely  an  instance  of  the  reverse. 

Conversely,  as  bronze  weapons  are  entirely  absent  from  the 
great  "  finds  "  of  the  Iron  Age,  so  are  iron  weapons  altogether 
wanting  in  those  instances  where,  as  for  instance  at  Nidau, 
on  the  Lake  of  Bienne,  and  Estavayer,  on  that  of  Neufchatel, 
large  quantities  of  bronze  tools  and  weapons  have  been  found 
together. 

To  sum  up  this  argument,  though  the  discoveries  of  bronze 
and  of  iron  weapons  have  been  very  numerous,  yet  there  is 
hardly  a  single  case  in  which  swords,  axes,  daggers,  or  other 
weapons  of  these  two  different  metals  have  been  found 
together ;  nor  are  bronze  weapons  found  associated  with  in- 
scriptions, or  with  coins,  pottery,  or  other  relics  of  Eoman 
origin. 

So,  also,  though  no  doubt  stone  weapons  were  used  during 
the  Bronze  Age,  there  are  many  cases  in  which  large  numbers 
of  stone  implements  and  weapons  have  been  found  without 
any  of  metal. 

In  illustration  of  this  argument,  I  must  call  attention  to 
the  following  table.  Objects  found  singly  teach  us  compara- 
tively little,  but  when  numbers  occur  together  they  become 
much  more  instructive.  Tlie  first  ten  localities  are  some  of 
the  Swiss  lake-villages,  which  will  be  described  in  Chapter 
VI.  J  the  eleventh  is  the  Nydam  find  just  alluded  to. 


ARCH^OLOGICAL    EVIDENCE.  13 

Now  from  the  ancient  lake-village  in  the  peat  moss  of 
Moosseedorf  we  have  a  hst  comprising  75  flint  nuclei,  25 
arrow-heads,  12  spear-heads,  90  scrapers,  30  saws,  96  axes, 
310  long  flakes,  and  about  2000  small  ones,  25  hammers, 
45  grindstones,  etc.,  71  awls  of  bone,  12  pointed  ribs,  100 
bone  chisels,  18  sharpened  boar's  teeth,  8  perforated  boar's 
teeth,  2  perforated  bear's  teeth,  5  harpoons  of  horn,  8  chisels 
and  4  awls  of  horn,  besides  30  axe-handles  or  sockets,  with- 
out a  trace  of  metal.  The  result,  so  far  as  six  stations  are 
concerned,  is  shown  in  the  following  table  (p.  15). 

K,  for  instance,  we  commence  with  the  remains  discovered 
at  Wangen,  on  the  Lake  of  Constance,  we  have  an  even  more 
remarkable  case.  M.  Lohle  has  found  there  more  than  1500 
axes,  100  whetstones,  150  corn-crushers,  and  2500  arrow- 
heads, flint  flakes,  chips,  etc.;  altogether  more  than  4450 
instruments  of  stone,  besides  about  350  of  bone,  making, 
with  100  earthenware  spinning- weights,  a  grand  total  of 
nearly  5000  objects,  and  yet  not  a  trace  of  metal.  The 
number  of  corn-crushers  and  spindle-whorls  is  interesting, 
when  we  remember  that  Wangen  alone,  among  these  four 
localities,  has  supplied  us  with  specimens  of  carbonized  grain, 
and  flax  fabrics. 

Now  let  me  ask  the  reader  to  compare  with  the  four  cases 
given  in  the  table  on  page  15  the  list  of  remains  from  the 
Bronze  Age  settlements  of  Merges,  Nidau,  Bstavayer,  Cor- 
taillod,  and  Corcelettes.  The  manner  in  which  the  collec- 
tions were  made  accounts,  probably,  for  the  absence  of 
whetstones,  and,  perhaps,  to  a  great  extent,  for  that  of  the 
flint  flakes,  etc.  On  these  points,  therefore,  I  lay  little  stress ; 
but  the  total  absence  of  stone  axes  at  Merges,  and  their 
rarity  at  Nidau  and  Estavayer,  is  very  remarkable.  At  the 
former  M.  Forel,  after  the  most  careful  search,  has  found  but 
one  object  of  iron.  The  large  number  of  corn-crushers  and 
the  presence  of  spinning-weights  are  also  significant. 


14  NATURE    OP   ARCH^OLOGICAL   EVIDENCE. 

Col.  Schwab's  splendid  collection  from  Nidau  tells  the 
same  tale.  He  has  only  33  stone  axes,  and  yet  as  many  as 
335  com-crushers.  The  other  articles  of  stone  he  has  not 
apparently  collected.  He  has  nearly  200  spindle-whorls,  and 
many  earthenware  rings,  specimens  of  which  have  also  been 
found  at  Morges,  but  which  are  entirely  wanting  at  the  Pont 
de  Thiele,  at  Wauwyl,  at  Moosseedorf,  and  at  Wangen. 

It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  very  different  states  of  civi- 
lization may  co-exist  in  different  parts  of  the  same  country  ; 
but  in  this  case  we  must  remember  that  the  settlement  at 
Nidau  is  only  about  fifteen  miles  from  Moosseedorf.  Nor  can 
we  suppose  that  the  differences  were  merely  a  question  of 
wealth ;  the  bronze  fish-hooks,  axes,  small  rings,  pins,  etc., 
which  are  found  in  such  large  numbers,  show  that  bronze 
was  used  not  for  the  articles  of  luxury  only,  but  also  for  the 
ordinary  implements  of  daily  life. 

Nor  is  it  only  in  the  presence  or  absence  of  bronze  that 
the  Pfahlbauten  differ  from  one  another;  there  are  many 
other  indications  of  progress.  We  cannot  expect  to  find 
much  evidence  of  this  in  the  implements  of  bone  or  stone ; 
but,  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  better  forms  of  stone 
axe,  and  those  which  are  perforated,  are  very  rare,  if  not 
altogether  absent  in  the  Stone  Age,  none  having  been  found 
at  the  Pont  de  Thiele,  at  Moosseedorf,  or  at  Wauwyl,  and 
only  two  at  Wangen. 

Again,  it  is  not  only  by  the  mere  presence  of  bronze,  but 
by  the  beauty  and  variety  of  the  articles  made  out  of  it,  that 
we  are  so  much  struck.  In  a  collection  of  objects  made  at 
any  of  the  Stone  Age  settlements,  no  one  can  fail  to  remark 
he  uniformity  which  prevails.  The  wants  of  the  artificer* 
seem  to  have  been  few  and  simple.  In  the  Bronze  Age  all 
this  is  altered.  We  find  not  only,  as  before,  axes,  arrows, 
and  knives,  but,  in  addition,  swords,  lances,  sickles,  ear-rings, 
bracelets,  pins,  rings,  and  a  variety  of  other  articles. 


STATISTICS. 


15 


•SNIOO 

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:         :         :        :         :            :         :         :        :         o          o 
■                              'O            o 

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o 

« 

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•saupung 

305 

208 

150 

16 

13 

Ornaments 

very 
numerous 

•siuamtJiLio 

o         «o      CO      «;      CO         1— 1 
:        :        :        :     (M         —      o      to      o                       ; 

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o        t^     -n<        .     — 1          :     .       . 

■S3113!S 

:        :       :        :     CO        (N     ^     t^     .^           :           : 

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:        :        :        :      (N                   •              ^           : 

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:        :        :        :      o        <M     r-i      ^      (N           :            : 

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:        :        :        .      (N         — .                      'o             .§         ' 

o 

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•ROX 

4450 

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1230 

426 

368 

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450 

277 

30 

147 

335 
Corn- 
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? 

? 

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crushers 

Balls 

A  few- 
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stones 

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o     o      o     ^     eo         „..      cv.      n.      »           :            ; 

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5  bo      "      T3       9-       s 

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Cortaillod 

Estavayer 

Corcclettcs   ... 
Morges 

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Denmark. 

Njdam  

16  POTTEEY    OF   THE    DIFFERENT   AGES. 

The  pottery  tells  the  same  tale.  The  potter's  wheel  indeed 
seems  to  have  been  unknown  during  both  the  Bronze  and 
Stone  Ages,  but  the  material  of  which  the  Stone-age  pottery 
is  composed  is  rough*,  containing  large  grains  of  quartz, 
while  that  used  during  the  Bronze  Age  is  more  carefully  pre- 
pared. The  ornaments  of  the  two  periods  show  also  a  great 
contrast.  In  the  Stone  Age  they  consist  of  impressions  made 
by  the  nail  or  the  finger,  and  sometimes  by  a  cord  twisted 
round  the  soft  clay.  The  lines  are  all  straight,  or  if  curved 
are  very  irregular  and  badly  drawn.  In  the  Bronze  Age  all 
the  patterns  present  in  the  Stone  Age  are  continued,  but  in 
addition  we  find  circles  and  spirals;  while  imitations  of 
animals  and  plants  are  characteristic  of  the  Iron  Age. 

So  again  the  distinction  between  the  Bronze  and  Iron  Ages 
does  by  no  means  rest  merely  on  the  presence  of  iron.  The 
pottery  is  different,  the  forms  of  the  implements  and  weapons 
are  different,  the  ornamentation  is  different,  the  knowledge 
of  metallurgy  was  more  advanced,  silver  and  lead  were  in 
use,  letters  had  been  invented,  coins  had  been  struck.  The 
entire  absence  of  silver,  of  coins,  and  of  inscriptions,  in  the 
bronze  finds,  is  very  remarkable. 

The  value  of  this  evidence  will  be  better  appreciated  after 
reading  the  following  extract  from  Mr.  Wright's  Essays  on 
Archaeology  f : 

"  All  the  sites  of  ruined  Roman  towns  with  which  I  am 
acquainted  present  to  the  excavator  a  numerous  collection  of 
objects,  ranging  through  a  period  which  ends  abruptly  with 
what  we  call  the  close  of  the  Roman  period,  and  attended 
with  circumstances  which  cannot  leave  any  doubt  that  this 
was  the  period  of  destruction.  Otherwise,  surely  we  should 
find  some  objects  which  would  remind  us  of  the  subsequent 

*  The  extreme  coarseness  of  the  found  in  tumuli  of  the  Stone  Age, 
Swiss  Lake  pottery  is,  perhaps,  partly  the   material  was   often  more  care- 
owing  to  its  having  been  intended  for  fully  prepared, 
kitchen  purposes  ;    for  the  vessels  t  Essays  on  Archaeology,  p.  105. 


BRONZE    WEAPONS    NOT    OP    ROMAN    ORIGIN.  17 

periods.  I  will  only  mention  one  class  of  articles  which  are 
generally  found  in  considerable  numbers,  the  coins.  We  in- 
variably find  these  presenting  a  more  or  less  complete  series 
of  Roman  coins,  endnig  at  latest  with  the  Emperors  who 
reigned  in  the  first  half  of  the  fifth  century.  This  is  not 
the  case  with  Roman  towns  which  have  continued  to  exist 
after  that  period,  for  then,  on  the  contrary,  we  find  relics 
which  speak  of  the  subsequent  inhabitants,  early  Saxon  and 
Mediaeval.  I  will  only,  for  want  of  space,  give  one  example, 
that  of  Richborough,  in  Kent.  The  town  of  Rutupiee  seems 
to  have  capitulated  with  the  Saxon  invaders,  and  to  have 
continued  until  its  inhabitants,  in  consequence  of  the  retreat 
of  the  sea,  gradually  abandoned  it  to  establish  themselves  at 
Sandwich.  Now  the  coins  found  at  Richborough  do  not  end 
with  those  of  the  Roman  emperors,  but  we  find,  first,  a  great 
quantity  of  those  singular  little  coins  which  are  generally 
known  by  the  name  of  minimi,  and  which,  presenting  very 
bad  imitations  of  the  Roman  coinage,  are  considered  as  be- 
longing to  the  age  immediately  following  tTie  Roman  period, 
and  preceding  that  of  the  Saxon  coinage. ^^ 

We  may  assume,  then,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Wright 
himself,  that  if  all  the  bronze  arms  which  are  so  abundant  in 
our  museums  were  really  of  Roman  origin,  many  of  them 
would  have  been  found  from  time  to  time  in  conjunction 
with  other  Roman  remains;  whereas  bronze  weapons  are 
never  found  in  association  with  coins,  pottery,  or  other  relics 
of  Roman  origin. 

Mr.  Wright,  indeed,  has  called  this  fact  in  question, 
but  m  spite  of  his  profound  acquaintance  with  archseologftal 
literature,  he  has  only  been  able  to  bring  forward  three  cases 
in  support  of  his  argument,  not  one  of  which  appears  to  mo 
to  be  satisfactory. 

For  a  full  statement  of  his  views  I  must  refer  to  his 
Memoir  on  Bronze  Weapons,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Eth- 
4 


18  BRONZE    WEAPONS   NOT    OF    ROMAN    ORIGIN. 

aological  Society*,  wliicL,  iu  conjunction  with  my  brother 
Frederic,  I  have  endeavoured  to  answer  before  the  same 
learned  body  t-  I  y^'^^l,  however,  refer  to  the  only  three  cases 
which  Mr.  "Wright  has  been  able  to  discover. 

The  first  is  that  of  the  bronze  sword  figured  in  Stuart's 
Caledonia  Romana,  PI.  v.  "  This  sword/'  says  Mr.  Wright, 
"  is  stated  to  have  been  found  at  the  Roman  station  of 
Ardoch,  in  Scotland,  on  the  wall  of  Antoninus,  and  there 
appears  no  reason  to  doubt  the  statement."  In  truth,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  such  statement;  Mr.  Wright  has  been 
misled  by  the  fact  that  the  sword  is  figured  on  the  same 
plate  with  some  Roman  remains  from  Ardoch. 

The  second  case  quoted  by  Mr.  Wright  is  that  of  a  sword 
described  by  Mongez  before  the  French  Institute,  on  the 
"  16th  Prairial,  An.  9,"  i.  e.  5th  June,  1801.  It  is  stated  to 
have  been  found  in  a  peatmoss  at  Heilly,  near  Abbeville, 
with  the  skeletons  of  a  man  and  a  horse,  and  four  coins  of 
the  Emperor  Caracalla.  "  This  sword,  therefore,"  says  Mr. 
Wright,  "  was  that  of  a  Roman  cavalry  soldier,  not  older,  and 
perhaps  a  little  later,  than  this  reign,  who  had  sunk  in  the 
bog  to  which  this  turbary  had  succeeded." 

Mongez,  on  the  contrary,  concluded  that  the  skeleton  could 
not  have  been  that  of  a  cavalry  soldier  at  all,  because  a 
cavalry  soldier  would  not  have  been  armed  with  a  short 
sword ;  and  so  far  from  regarding  the  sword  as  Roman,  ''on  ne 
pourroit,"  he  says,  "  egalement  pas  I'attribuer  aux  Remains, 
si  Ton  ne  raisonnoit  que  d'apres  la  matiere  dont  elle  est 
faite  |."  And  in  the  next  page  he  adds,  "  We  are  therefore 
certain,  that  after  the  second  Punic  war,  the  Roman  swords 
were  made  of  iron  §." 

It  is  true  that  five  months  later  he  altered  his  opinion,  and 

*  Transactions  of  the  Ethnological  §  "Nous  voilil  done  certains  que 

Soc,  N.S.  vol.  iv.  p.  176.  I'epee  des  Remains,  depuis  la  scconde 

+  Ditto,  N.S.  vol.  V.  p.  105.  guerre  Punique,  fut  fabriquee  en  fer," 

t  Log.  cit.,  p.  193.  p.  194. 


BRONZE    WEAPONS   NOT   OF    ROMAN    ORIGIN.  19 

came  to  the  conclusion  that,  after  all,  the  bronze  swords  were 
Roman,  but  we  cannot  consider  that  much  weight  should  bo 
attached  to  this  opinion,  which  was  in  direct  opposition  to 
that  entertained  by  the  same  learned  antiquary  a  few  months 
previously. 

Finally,  Mr.  Wright  cites  an  instance  of  a  bronze  sword 
found  with  some  Roman  coins  of  Maxentius,  who  reigned 
from  306  to  312  a.d.     This  sword  was  discovered  in  a  turbary 
at  Piquigny,  near  Abbeville,  in  a  large  boat,  wliich  it  would 
seem  had  been  sunk,  and  in  which  were  several  skeletons. 
The  reason  for  referring  this  bronze  sword  to  the  Roman 
epoch,  was  the  presence  in  this  case,  as  in  the  last,  of  Roman 
coins.  But  it  is  somewhat  remarkable,  that  in  both  instances 
the  antiquaries  who  recorded  the  discovery  attributed  so  little 
importance  to  the  presence  of  these  coins,  that  they  did  not 
take  the  trouble  to  specify  the  exact  position  which  they 
occupied  with  reference  to  the  bronze  weapons ;  in  fact  they 
only  mention  them  casually,   and  as  it  were  by  an  after- 
thought, in  a  foot-note.     We  may  be  pardoned,  then,  if  we 
do  not  ourselves  look  upon  these  coins  as  being  certainly  of 
the  same  date  as  the  weapons  near  which  they  are  said  to 
have  been  discovered.     Others  may  be  of  a  different  opinion, 
but  even  if  it  be  admitted  that  in  these  two  cases  bronze 
weapons  were  actually  discovered  in  association  with  Roman 
coins,  and  in  such  a  position  that  the  weapons  and  the  coins 
must  certainly  have  been  embedded  together,  still,  when  we 
consider  the  great  abundance  of  Roman  coins  on  the  one 
hand,   and  of  bronze  weapons  on  the  other,  we  cannot  be 
surprised  that  there  should  be  one  or  two  cases  in  which  they 
have  been  found  associated  together. 

Mr.  Wright  indeed  states  that,  "  instead  of  our  not  finding 
the  bronze  swords  in  juxta-position  with  Roman  remains,  in 
every  case  where  they  have  been  found  in  Britain  or  Gaul, 
where    the    details    of    the    discovery  have   been  carefully 


20  GEOGRAPHICAL   DISTRIBUTION   OF    BRONZE    "WEAPONS. 

observed,  it  has  occurred  under  circumstances  wliicli  lead  to 
the  strongest  presumption  of  tlieir  being  Roman/'  Yet  we 
have  seen  that,  in  spite  of  his  great  acquaintance  with  archae- 
ological literature,  he  has  only  been  able  to  bring  forward 
three  cases,  one  of  which  is  founded  on  an  error,  while  the 
other  two  seem  hardly  more  satisfactorily  estabhshed. 

Again,  the  geographical  distribution  of  bronze  weapons  and 
implements  does  not  favour  such  a  theory.  The  Romans  never 
entered  Denmark  ;  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  ever  landed  in 
Ireland,  no  Roman  road,  masonry,  or  earthwork,  has  ever 
been  found  there.  Yet  while  more  than  350  bronze  swords 
have  been  found  in  Denmark,  and  a  very  large  number  in 
Ireland  *,  I  have  only  been  able  to  hear  of  six  bronze  swords 
in  Italy.  The  rich  museums  at  Florence,  Rome,  and  Naples 
do  not  appear  to  contain  a  single  specimen  of  those  typical, 
leaf-shaped  bronze  swords,  which  are,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, so  common  in  the  North.  That  the  bronze  swords 
should  have  been  introduced  into  Denmark  by  a  people  who 
never  occupied  that  country,  and  from  a  part  of  Europe  in 
which  they  are  very  rare,  is,  I  think,  a  most  untenable 
hypothesis. 

I  may  add  that  no  swords  or  celts  of  bronze  have  been 
found  in  the  excavations  at  Pompeii. 

Moreover,  the  use  of  the  word  "ferrum"  (iron),  as  synony- 
mous with  a  sword,  clearly  proves  that  the  Roman  swords 
were  made  of  that  metal. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  silver  and  lead  do  not 
occur  iji  Bronze  Age  finds,  that  coins  and  letters  are 
equally  absent,  and  that  the  ornamentation  of  the  Bronze 
Age,  though  sometimes  very  beautiful,  is  not.  of  a  Roman 
character. 

Lastly,  the  bronze  which  was  so   largely  used  by  the 

*  The  Museum  at  Dublin  contains  the  number  of  swords  is  not  stated 
282  swords  and  daggers  :  unluckily,       separately. 


SUMMARY    OP   ARGUMENT  21 

Romans  for  ornaments^  etc.,  was  composed  partly  of  lead, 
whereas  that  of  the  Bronze  Age  consists  of  copper  and  tin 
only.  Other  metals,  indeed,  such  as  iron,  silver,  nickel, 
and  lead  itself,  are  present ;  but  in  small  quantities,  never 
having  been  purposely  introduced,  but  only  occurring  as 
impurities. 

The  reasons,  then,  which  satisfy  me  that  our  bronze  weapons 
cannot  be  referred  to  Roman  times,  may  be  summed  up  as 
follows  : — 

Firstly.  They  have  never  been  found  in  company  with 
Roman  pottery,  or  other  remains  of  the  Roman  period. 

Secondly.  They  are  very  abundant  in  some  countries,  as 
for  instance  in  Denmark  and  Ireland,  which  were  never 
invaded  by  Roman  armies. 

Thirdly.  The  bronze  swords  do  not  resemble  in  form  those 
used  by  Roman  soldiers. 

Fourthly.  The  Latin  word  "  ferrum^'  was  used  as  synony- 
mous with  a  sword,  showing  that  the  Romans  always  used 
iron. 

Fifthly.  The  ornamentation  is  not  Roman  in  its  character. 

Sixthly.  The  bronze  used  by  the  Romans  contained, 
generally,  a  large  proportion  of  lead,  which  is  never  the 
case  in  that  of  the  Bronze  Age. 

Nor  is  there  any  subsequent  period  to  which  we  can  refer 
the  weapons  and  implements  of  bronze.  Great  numbers  of 
Saxon  interments  have  been  examined  both  in  this  country 
and  on  the  Continent,  and  we  know  that  the  swords,  lances, 
knives,  and  other  weapons  of  that  time,  were  all  of  iron. 
Besides  this,  if  the  bronze  implements  and  weapons  had 
belonged  to  post-Roman  times,  we  should  certainly,  I  think, 
have  found  some  of  them  in  the  ruined  towns,  and  with  the 
pottery  and  coins,  of  that  period.  Moreover,  the  similarity 
to  each  other  of  the  weapons  found  in  very  distant  parts  of 
Europe,  implies  more  extended  intercourse  between  different 


22 


BEONZE    WEAPONS    NOT    SAXON. 


countries  than  any  which  existed  in  those  centuries.  On  the 
whole,  then,  the  evidence  appears  to  show  that  the  use  of 
bronze  weapons  is  characteristic  of  a  particular  phase  in  the 
history  of  European  civilization,  and  one  which  was  anterior 
to  the  discovery  of  iron,  or,  at  any  rate,  to  the  general  use 
of  that  metal  for  cutting  purposes. 

It  is,  moreover,  I  think,  clearly  established  that  the  use  of 
iron  was  general  throughout  Northern  Europe  for  a  con- 
siderable time  before  the  invasion  of  Caesar. 

Evidently,  however,  the  transition  from  the  use  of  bronze 
weapons,  to  those  of  iron  must  have  been  gradual,  and  there 
must  have  been  a  time  when  the  two  were  in  use  together. 

M.  Ramsauer,  for  many  years  director  of  the  salt-mines  at 
Hallstadt,  near  Salzburg,  in  Austria,  has  discovered  an  ex- 
tensive cemetery  belonging  to  this  transitional  period.  He 
has  opened  no  less  than  980  graves,  evidently  of  those  who 
even  at  that  early  period  worked  the  salt-mines  which  are 
still  so  celebrated.  The  objects  discovered  are  described 
and  figured  in  an  album,  which  has  unfortunately  never 
been  published,  but  of  which  Mr.  Evans  and  I  secured  a 
copy.  The  following  table  will  sufl&ciently  prove  the  im- 
portance of  the  discovery. 

That  the  period  to  which  these  graves  belonged  was  that 
of  the  transition  between  the  Bronze  and  Iron  Ages,  is 
evident ;  both  because  we  find  cutting  instruments  of  iron 
as  well  as  of  bronze,  and  also  because  both  are  of  somewhat 
unusual,  and  we  may  almost  say  of  intermediate,  types.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  the  ornamentation.  Animals  are  fre- 
quently represented,  but  are  very  poorly  executed,  while  the 
geometrical  patterns  are  well  drawn.  Coins  are  entirely 
absent.  That  the  transition  was  from  bronze  to  iron,  and 
not  from  iron  to  bronze,  is  clear ;  because  here,  as  elsewhere, 
while  iron  instruments  with  bronze  handles  are  common, 
there  is  not  a  single  case  of  a  bronze  blade  with  an  iron 


HALLSTADT. 


23 


H  I  s 

EH 

o 
o 


OS" 

o 


o 


•ssAEij)  aqj  JO  "O^ 


•a  1) 
oS 

a  2 


■saAEJo  3iiJ  JO  -OM 


MavxsnvH 


24  HALLSTADT. 

handle.  This  shows  that^  when  both  metals  were  in  use,  the 
iron  was  preferred  for  blades.  Another  interesting  point  in 
the  Hallstadt  bronze,  as  in  that  of  the  true  Bronze  Age,  is 
the  absence  of  silver,  lead,  and  zinc  (excepting,  of  course,  as 
mere  impurities  in  the  bronze).  This  is  the  more  significant, 
inasmuch  as  the  presence,  not  only  of  the  tin  itself,  but  also 
of  glass,  amber,  and  ivory,  indicates  the  existence  of  an 
extensive  commerce. 

Moreover,  as  Morlot  well  pointed  out,  the  absence  of  silver 
cannot  be  accidental,  because  the  bronze  of  Hallstadt  contains 
no  lead,  and  the  absence  of  lead  entails  that  of  silver,  since 
the  latter  could  not,  at  least  in  Europe,  be  obtained  without 
the  former. 


25 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON    THE    USE    OF   BRONZE    IN   ANCIENT   TIMES. 

The  commonest  and,  perhaps,  the  most  characteristic 
objects  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age,  are  the  so-called 
"celts"  (figs.  4-16)  which  were  probably  used  for  chisels. 


Fio.  6. 


Copper  Celt  irora  Waterford.  Winged  Celt  from  Ireland.    Socketed  Celt  from  Ireland. 


Fig.  8. 


Fig.  9. 


The  three  different  types  of  Celts,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  are  supposed  to  have  been 

handled. 


26  BRONZE    CELTS. 

hoes,  war-axes,  and  a  variety  of  other  purposes.     Implements 


Fig.  11. 


Fio.  12. 


KaliiiufK  A.M.'. 


Fig.  13. 


'•.    '"'•"'Siiiiii, 

/    i»v..nK;'"'v^-: ^ 

/     .  •■■;•.  ..I.     '■".'. 


CupjiLT  I ;  I  Ceil  iiuiu 

Ireland. 


Fig.  14. 


Celt-mould  from  Ireland. 


Fig.  15. 


Fig.  If). 


Decorated  Celt  from  Ireland. 


Danish  Celts. 


BRONZE    CELTS. 


27 


similar,  though  not  identical,  and  made  of  iron  instead  of 
bronze,  are  even  now  employed  in  Siberia  (fig.  10)  and 
some  parts  of  Africa*.  More  than- two  thousand  are  known 
to  exist  in  the  different  Irish  collections,  of  which  the 
great  Museum  belonging  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  at 
Dubhn  contained  in  the  year  1860  no  less  than  six  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  t,  no  two  of  which  were  cast  in  the  same 
mould.  They  vary  in  size  from  an  inch  to  a  foot  in  length, 
and  may  bo  divided  into  three  principal  classes  (figs.  7-9) 
according  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  handled ;  though 


Fig.  it. 


Fig.  18 


Bronze  A.\e.  Le  Pu\ 


Fig.  19. 


Bronze  Axe.     Naples. 


*  Klemm's   Culturgeschichte  der  f  In  the  Museum  at  Edinburgh  are 

Menschcn,  vol.  iii.   p.   160.       Hora3       more  than  100,  at  Copenhagen  350. 
ferales,  p.  77. 


28  BRONZE    CELTS. 

we  must  remember  that  tlicre  were  many  intermediate  forms. 
The  first  class  (figs.  4,  7, 11,  13,  li, and  15)  is  the  simplest  in 
form,  and  is  considered  by  some  antiquaries  (as,  for  instance, 
by  Sir  W.  R.  Wilde*)  to  be  the  oldest,  partly  because  they  are 
"  evidently  formed  on  the  t}^e  of  the  old  stone  celts,"  (conf. 
figs.  11  and  18  with  figs.  19  and  160)  partly  because  some  of 
them  (nearly  thirty  for  instance  in  the  Dublin  Museum)  are  of 
red,  almost  unalloyed,  copper,  and  are  "  almost  the  only 
antique  implements  of  any  kind  formed  out  of  ^^  this  metal, 
and  partly  because  the  copper  ones  at  least  are  alwaj'^s 
unornamented.  On  the  other  hand,  the  simplicity  of  form 
exhibited  by  the  copper  axes,  which  may  be  observed  in 
those  from  other  countries  as  well  as  from  Ireland,  is  perhaps 
to  be  accounted  for  by  the  great  diSiculty  of  casting  copper, 
so  that  the  founders,  when  dealing  with  that  metal,  would 
naturally  confine  themselves  to  the  simpler  forms.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  these  simple  celts  were  handled  in 
the  manner  indicated  (fig.  7).  Fig.  20  represents  a  modern 
African  axe  in  my  collection.  Here,  however,  the  blade  is 
of  iron. 

Fig.  20. 


African  Axe. 


Evidently,  however,  in  such  an  axe  the  blade  would  tend 
to  split  the  handle  in  which  it  was  placed.      To  remedy  this 

*  Cat.  Ir.  Acad.,  p.  361. 


I 


BRONZE   SWORDS.  29 

defect;  a  stop,  or  ridge,  was  raised  across  the  celt,  and  the 
metal  and  wood  were  made  to  fit  into  one  another  (figs.  5 
and  8) .  This  second  form  of  celt  is  known  as  a  Paalstab,  or 
Paalstave,  and  has  often  a  small  loop  on  one  side  (the  sup- 
posed use  of  which  is  indicated  in  the  figure),  as  well  as  a 
wing  on  each  side.  A  still  further  improvement  consisted 
(figs.  6,  9,  16)  in  reversing  the  position  of  the  metal  and 
the  handle,  making  the  axe  hollow  at  one  end,  and  so  passing 
the  handle  into  it. 

Bronze  celts  are  generally  plain,  but  sometimes  ornamented 
with  ridges,  dots,  or  lines,  as  in  figs.  6,  9,  13,  15,  and  16. 
That  they  were  made  in  the  countries  where  they  are  found, 
is  proved  by  the  presence  of  moulds  (fig.  12).  It  is  diflScult 
to  understand  why  the  celt-makers  never  cast  their  axes  as 
we  do  ours,  with  a  transverse  hole,  through  which  the  handle 
might  pass.  No  bronze  implements  of  this  description  has, 
however,  so  far  as  I  know,  been  yet  found  in  Great  Britain, 
though  a  few  have  occurred  in  Denmark,  where  they  are  of 
great  beauty  and  highly  decorated. 

The  swords  of  the  Bronze  Age  (figs.  22-29  *),  are  always 
more  or  less  leaf-like  in  shape,  double-edged,  sharp-pointed, 
and  intended  for  stabbing  and  thrusting,  rather  than  for 
cutting.  This  is  evident,  not  only  from  the  general  shape, 
but  also  from  the  condition  of  the  edges.  They  never  have 
any  handguards :  the  handles  are  sometimes  solid  (figs. 
25-31) ;  this  is  generally  the  case  with  those  found  in  Den- 
mark :  sometimes  (figs.  22-24)  flat,  thin,  and  evidently  in- 
tended to  be  plated  with  wood  or  bone  :  while  sometimes  the 
sword  expands  at  its  base,  and  is  fastened  to  a  handle  by 
from  two  to  four  rivets.  Swords  of  this  class  are  generally 
shorter  than  the  others,  and  indeed  we  find  every  intermediate 
form  between  the  true  sword  and  the  dagger  (figs.  32,  33,  34)  : 

*  In  Fig.  21  an  ancient  iron  sword  is  represented,  in  order  to  show  the 
difference  in  form. 


30 


BRONZE    SWORDS. 


Fig.  25. 


Fig,  21 


Ancient 
Iron 
Sword 
from  a 
Saxon 
tomb. 

England 


Lake  of 
Neufcliatel. 


Sweden. 


Bronze  Swords. 


BEONZE  SPEAES. 


31 


of  the  two  classes  together,  the  Dublin  Museum  contains  nearly 
300.  The  handles  of  the  bronze  swords  are  very  short,  and 
could  not  have  been  held  comfortably  by  hands  as  large  as 
ours,  a  characteristic  much  relied  on  by  those  who  attribute 


Fig.  27. 


Fig.  28. 


Fig.  29. 


Fig.  30. 


Fig.  31. 


Sword-handles  from  Denmark. 

the  introduction  of  bronze 
into  Europe  to  a  people  of 
Asiatic  origin.  The  Danish 
Museum  contains  more  than 
ooO  bronze  swords. 

The  next  classes  of  bronze 
objects    are    the    heads   of 
spears  (figs.  35,  36),  jave- 
lins, and  arroivs;  two  hun- 
dred   and    seventy-six     of 
which   are    in    the   Dublin 
Museum;     in    length    they 
vary  from  two  feet  and  a  half  to  an 
inch,  and  their  shapes  are  also  very 
various :    but    it  is    unnecessary  to 
describe  them  in  detail,  because  they 
Swords  from  Denmark.         are  repeated   in  similar  weapons  of 
all  ages,  countries,  and  materials.     Bi-onze  arrows,  however, 
are  not  very  common  in  Northern  Europe,  probably  because 
flint  was  so  much  cheaper,  and  almost  as  effective. 


32 


BRONZE    FISH-HOOKS   AND    SICKLES. 


More  tlian  a  hundred  hronze  Jlsh-hooh  have  been  found  at 
Nidau  in  the  Lake  of  Bienne,  but  elsewhere  they  appear  to  be 
rare ;  the  Museum  at  Dublin  contains  only  one.  Siclcles  are 
more  numerous;  at  Copenhagen  there  are  twenty-five,  at 
Dublin  eleven;  in  the  Lake-village  at  Merges  eleven  have 


Fig.  33. 


Fig.  34. 


Irish  Bronze  Daggers. 

been  found,  at  Nidau  eighteen;  they  are  generally  about 
six  inches  in  length,  flat  on  one  side,  and  raised  on  the 
other;  they  were  always  intended  to  be  held  in  the  right 
hand. 


BRONZE    KNIVES. 


33 


Fig.  35. 


Bronze  knives  (figs.  37-41)  are  frequently  found  in  the 
Danish  tumuli,  and  among  the  remains  of  the  Swiss  lake 
habitations ;  twenty,  for  instance,  at  Morges,  twenty-six  at 
Estavayer,  and  about  a  hundred  at  Nidau  :  in  Ireland  they 
appear  to  be  very  rare  ;  the  Dublin  Museum 
does  not  contain  one.  They  were  generally 
fitted  into  handles  of  bone,  horn,  or  wood, 
and  the  blade  was  almost  always  more  or 
less  curved,  those  of  iron  knives,  on  the 
contrary,  being  generally  straight. 

Fig.  48  represents  a  bronze  knife  found 
at  Thebes  by  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,  and 
figured  in  Lee's  translation  of  Keller,  p. 
276*. 

The  small  bronze'  razor-knives  (figs.  42- 
45),  indeed,  have  straight  edges,  but  they 
are  quite  of  a  different  character  from  the 
iron  knives :  from  the  ornaments  engraved 
on  them,  I  am  disposed  to  regard  them  as 
belonging  to  a  late  period  in  the  Ago  of  Bronze,  if  not 
in  some  cases  to  the  beginning  of  that  of  Iron.  Indeed,  the 
Flensborg  Museum  contains  a  razor-knife,  said  to  have  been 
found  together  with  objects  of  the  latter  metal. 

Ornameuts  of  bronze  do  not,  like  the  weapons  of  that 
metal,  characterize  a  definite  period,  but  may  belong  to  any 
age.  Therefore,  before  we  refer  any  particular  ornament  to 
this  period,  we  must  know  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  found.  The  following  illustrations  are  principally  from 
the  Swiss  lake  villages. 

The  personal  ornaments  which  may,  I  think,  safely  be 
referred  to  the  Bronze  Age,  consist  principally  of  bracelets 


Spear-heads  from 
Ireland. 


*    See  also  for  Egyptian   Bronze 
implements     and   •weapons    Mr.    A. 
Ai'celin's  paper  in  the  Mater,  p.  Ser. 
5 


k  I'Hist.  Pi-im.  de   rHomme,  1869. 
p.  376. 


34 


BRONZE    KNIVES. 


(figs.  49,  50),  pins  (figs.  51-53),  and  rings.  Tlie  bracelets 
are  either  simple  spirals,  or  rings  open  at  one  side,  and  deco- 
rated by  those  combinations  of  straight  and  curved  lines  so 
characteristic  of  the  Bronze  Age.  Like  the  weapons,  they 
generally  indicate  small  hands,  but,  like  the  bronze  ornaments 
of  various  existing  savages — for  instance,  of  many  Negro 
tribes,  of  the  Khonds  in  Orissa,  &c. — they  are  often  ex- 
tremely heavy. 


Fio.  40. 


Fig.  41. 


Fig.  37. 


Bronze  Knives  from  Denmark 


Bronze  Knives  from 
Switzerland. 


Bronze  pins  are  very  abundant:   for   instance,   57  have 
been  obtained  from  Merges,  239  from  Estavayer,  and  600 


BRONZE    KNIVES. 


35 


from  Nidau.  They  are  also  very  frequently  found  in  graves, 
where  they  were  used,  as  pointed  out  by  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare,  to 
secure  the  linen  cloth  which  enveloped  the  bones.    Although 


Fig.  42. 


Fio.  44. 


Fig.  45. 


Razor-knives  from  Denimark. 
Fig.  46. 


Small  Knives  from  Denmark. 


brooches  of  bronze  are  very  common,  they  have  generally 
been  found  in  conjunction  with  iron,  and  during  the  Bronze 


36 


BRONZE   ORNAMENTS. 


Age  their  place  seems  to  have  been  generally  filled  by  mere 
pins.  Many  of  the  latter  articles  found  in  the  Swiss  lakes 
appear,  bowever,  to  have  been  hair-pins.     Some  of  them  are 

Fig.  48. 


Egyptian  Knife. 


Fig.  49. 


Fig.  50. 


Fig.  51. 


Bracelets.  —Switzerland. 
Fig.  52.  Fig.  53. 


Fig.  54. 


Bronze  Hair-pins.— Switzerland. 

nearly  a  foot  in  length,  and  two  found  near  Berne  even  as 
much  as  2ft.  9in.     Many  of  the  pins  have  large  hollow 


BRONZE   ORNAMENTS. 


37 


M 


spherical  heads,  as  in  figs.  51,  52 ;  the  others  vary  so 
that  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  general  description  of 
Tliere  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  ^"'•"•^'''••'*«-^'°" 
pins  really  belong  to  the  Bronze  Age  ; 
but  the  fact,  that  similar  ones  con- 
tinued in  use  long  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  iron,  is  equally  well  established. 
One  of  these  later  bronze  pins  is  repre- 
sented in  fig.  171.  Some  other  small 
objects  of  bronze,  including  two 
needles,  from  the  Lake  of  Neufchatel, 
are  represented  in  figs.  55-60. 
Bronze  hammers  are  very  rare ;  it  is 
probable  that  stones  were  used  for  this 
purpose.  Gouges  are  more  common. 
Small  saws  have  been  discovered  in 
Germany  and  Denmark,  but    not,  as 


much 
them. 

Fio.58. 


Fig.  59. 


Fig.  60. 


Small  objects  in  Bronze.— Switzerland. 

yet,  in  Great  Britain.  Studs  or  buttons,  though  not  very 
abundant,  are  found  both  in  Switzerland  and  Scandinavia  *. 
Silver,  lead,  and  zinc  appear  to  have  been  unknown  during 
the  Bronze  Age.  Glass  beads  were  in  use,  but  no  vessels  of 
glass  have  yet  been*  discovered  j  in  the  same  manner  there 
are  barbarous  tribes  now  which  are  well  supplied  with  Euro- 
pean beads,  but  which  possess  no  glass  vessels. 

Tlie  weapons  and  ornaments   of  the  Bronze  Age  aie  all 


*  Further  information  as, to  the       will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  the 
objects  of  bronze  from  Switzerland       Swiss  lake  habitations. 


38 


THE    METALLURGY 


Fio.61. 


cast,  and  show  very  considerable  skill  in  metallurgy  *.  Three 
modes  of  casting  were  employed.  One  was  that  in  a  mould, 
either  of  stone  or  metal.  Of  course  in  this  case  the  mould 
was  necessarily  in  two  halves,  and  the  line  of  junction  was 
generally  visible,  as  in  fig,  61,  representing  a  celt,  which  has 
evidently  been  cast  in  this  manner.  This  specimen  was 
found  in  Kent,  and  presented  to  me  by  Dr.  Dasent.     It  is 

clear,  however,  that  such  an 
object  as  the  knife  in  fig.  40 
could  not  have  been  cast  in 
this  manner.  Neither  were 
the  pins,  figs.  51-54,  for  if 
they  had  been,  the  line  of 
junction  between  the  two 
halves  of  the  mould  must 
have  been  traceable. 

Indeed  this  mode  of  cast- 
ing was  evidently  unusual. 
This  is  proved  by  the  con- 
dition   of    the    objects,    by 
the  scarcity  of  moulds,  and 
also    by  the   fact   that  we 
seldom  find  any  two  bronze 
objects    exactly   similar   to 
one  another.     Thus,  out  of 
the  six  hundred  and  eighty- 
Kentish  Celt.  eight  specimens  in  the  Dub- 
lin Museum,  no  two  were  cast  in  the  same  mould,  clearly 
showing  that  the  moulds  were  not  permanent. 

The  second  mode  of  casting  was  by  making  a  model  of 
the  object  in  wood  or  some  other  hard  substance,  and  press- 


*  See  Morlot's  interesting  memoir : 
"  Sur  Ic  passage  de  I'ago  do  la  pierro 
^  I'age  du  Brcjoze  et  sur  los  metaux 


employes    dans    I'slgG    du  Bronze.". 
Copenluigue,  1866. 


OP   THE   BRONZE   AGE.  39 

ing  it  on  fine  sand^  so  as  to  obtain  a  corresponding  hollow. 
The  sand  must  of  course  have  been  contained  in  two  boxes  or 
frames,  fitting  like  the  solid  moulds  one  on  the  other.  Ob- 
jects cast  in  this  manner  would  therefore  also  show  the  line 
of  junction.  The  advantage  of  this  method  is  that  sand  can 
easily  be  worked  into  the  required  form,  and  wooden  models 
were  much  more  easily  made  than  hollow  moulds,  either  of 
stone  or  metal.  Like  the  former,  however,  this  method  was 
applicable  to  very  simple  castings  only.  Specimens  in  which 
the  line  of  junction  is  not  exactly  central,  or  symmetrical, 
were  probably  cast  in  this  manner,  the  model  having  been 
pressed  into  the  one  mould  rather  more  deeply  than  into 
the  other. 

The  third  method  of  casting  was  with  wax.  In  this  case, 
as  in  the  former,  a  model  was  made  and  enclosed  in  pre- 
pared earth,  made  of  some  clayey  soil  mixed  probably  with 
cowdung,  or  some  other  inflammable  substance,  in  order  that 
when  subjected  to  heat,  it  might  become  porous.  The'  frame 
was  then  warmed  so  that  the  wax  melted  and  ran  out  of  the 
hole  through  which  the  metal  was  to  be  poured  in.  This 
was  the  commonest  mode  of  casting  during  the  Bronze  Age. 
It  required  fewer  instruments,  and  did  not,  like  the  other 
two  methods,  involve  a  line  of  junction,  which  was  a  great 
advantage,  because  in  the  absence  of  steel  the  projecting 
ridge  thus  produced  was  very  difficult  to  remove,  especially 
when  the  objects  were  ornamented.  In  one  case  M.  Morlot 
observed  on  an  object  of  bronze  the  mark  of  a  finger, 
evidently  resulting  from  an  impression  on  the  soft  wax. 
Occasionally,  again,  when  the  wax  was  heated  carelessly,  it 
burned  and  left  a  carbonized  film,  which  of  course  produced 
a  corresponding  mark  on  the  object  cast. 

In  some  few  cases  the  interiors  of  bronze  vessels  show  the 
marks  of  the  spatula  with  which  the  wax  was  worked. 

The  evidences  of  imperfect  metallurgical  knowledge  and 


40 


THE   METALLURGY 


appliances  are  also  very  interesting.  M.  Morlot  has  called 
attention  to  a  striking  instance  of  this  presented  by  one  of 
the  large  Schwerin  brooches  (fig.  62).     This  was  evidently 


Fig.  62. 


Fig.  63. 


Mended  Brooch. — Mecklenburgh. 

a  chef  d'oeuvre,  but  the  intermediate  bow  connecting  the  two 
great  discs  had  been  accidentally  broken.  In  order  to  mend 
it  again,  the  two  pieces  were  put  into  their  proper  relative 
position,  and  the  broken  bow  was  covered  with  a  layer  of 
wax.  The  whole  was  then  surrounded  -vNith  the 
usual  preparation  of  clay,  etc.,  the  wax  was  melted 
out  and  replaced  with  bronze. 

Again,  besides  the  orifice  through  which  the 
bronze  was  poui'ed  into  the  mould,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  leave  one  or  more  holes  through  which  the 
air  might  escape.  The  first,  being  funnel-shaped, 
was  easily  removed,  but  the  latter  were  frequently 
beaten  over,  as  is  seen  at  the  top  of  fig.  63,  for 
without  steel  it  was  almost  impossible  to  cut  them 
off.  Indeed  the  smiths  of  the  Bronze  Age  seem 
to  have  been  unable  to  pierce  bronze,  and  the 
holes  for  rivets,  as  in  the  swords,  etc.,  are  cast  and 
not  pierced. 
Even  the  ornamentation  in  circles,  spirals,  etc.,  on  the 


OF   THE   BRONZE   AGE. 


41 


bronze  objects  is  all  cast,  and  tliougli  beautifully  drawn, 
was  evidently  done  with  the  free  hand;  compasses  seem 
therefore  to  have  been  unknown.  Moreover  it  is  evident 
that  these  decorated  objects  must  have  been  cast  with  wax, 
for  though  on  a  flat  surface  the  line  of  junction  might  have 
been  smoothed  down,  it  could  not  have  been  obliterated  on 
the  ornamented  objects. 

On  some  of  the  bronze  vessels,  indeed,  the  ornamentation 
has  been  produced  by  hammering.  This,  however,  indicates 
a  considerable  progress  in  metallurgy. 

Soldering  seems  to  have  been  entirely  unknown  during 
the  Bronze  Age,  and  even  during  the  earlier  times  of  the 
Iron  Age.  Thus  the  Hallstadt  bronze  vessels,  when  broken, 
were  always  riveted  together. 

Fig.  64. 


Gold  Torque, — Ireland.    Found  near  Clonmacnoise, 

I  have  also  figured  a  group    (figs.  64-67)   of  Irish  gold 


42 


GOLD   OKNAMENTS. 


Fig.  66. 


Fig.  65. 


Gold  Ornaments.— Ireland. 
Fig.  67. 


Gold  Ornament.— Ireland. 
Fig.  67*. 


^U^ioa 


Iron  Ornament— Africa. 


LIST   OF   BRONZE   OBJECTS. 


43 


Celts  and  Fragments 

Swords 

Hammers 

Knives  and  Fragments  . . 

Hair-pius 

Small  Rings 

Ear-rings  

Bracelets  and  Fragments 

Fish-hooks    

Awls 

Spiral  Wires 

Lance-heads 

Arrow-heads    

Buttons 

Needles 

Various  Ornaments 

Saws  ., 

Daggers    

Sickle^  

Double-pointed  Pins  

Small  Bracelets  

Sundries    

Total    


23 

4 
102 
611 
496 
238 
55 
189 


27 


20 
15 


2001 


19 
53 
28 
42 
14 
12 
3 


12 


208 


1 

14 
239 
115 
36 
16 
43 
49 
46 

5 

28 
3 
7 
3 


618 


13 


22 

183 

195 

116 

21 

71 

98 

50 

4 

1 

10 

4 

18 


835 


19 
237 

202 

26 
9 

17 
5 

2 

10 
1 
3 


539 


o 

C9 
P. 

hi 
HI 

O 
11 

Total. 

67 

4 

4 

5 

9 

193 

22 

1367 

3 

1053 

5 

440 

2 

145 

1 

248 

262 

101 

2 

47 

6 

49 

30 

49 

3 

2 

2 

4 

45 

75 

31 

4 

124 

- 

69 

4346 

44  GOLD   ORNAMENTS. 

ornaments.  We  have,  however,  as  yet  no  evidence  as  to  their 
origin,  and  very  probably  they  belong  to  a  much  later  period. 
The  fact  is  interesting  that  very  similar  ornaments,  made 
however  not  of  gold,  but  of  iron,  are  now  worn  by  the 
natives  of  Africa.     One  of  these  is  represented  in  fig.  67*. 

The  ornamentation  on  the  objects  of  bronze  is  of  a  peculiar, 
and  at  the  same  time  uniform,  character;  it  consists  of 
simple  geometrical  patterns,  and  is  formed  by  combinations 
of  spirals,  circles,  and  zigzag  lines ;  representations  of  animals 
and  plants  being  very  rarely  attempted.  Even  the  few  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule  are  perhaps  more  apparent  than  real. 
Thus,  two  such  only  are  figured  in  the  Catalogue  of  the 
Copenhagen  Museum;  one  is  a  rude  figure  of  a  swan  (fig. 
37),  the  other  of  a  man  (fig.  39).  The  second  of  these 
forms  the  handle  of  a  knife,  which  appears  to  be  straight 
in  the  blade,  a  type  characteristic  of  the  Iron  Age,  but 
rarely  found  in  that  of  Bronze.  As  regards  one  of  them, 
therefore,  there  is  an  independent  reason  for  referring  it 
to  the  period  of  transition,  or  at  least  to  the  close  of  the 
Bronze  Age.  There  is,  indeed,  one  type  of  pattern,  usually 
found  on  the  razor-knives,  but  sometimes  also  on  others, 
intended  probably  for  a  rude  representation  of  a  ship  (figs. 
42-45).  Even,  however,  if  we  admit  tjiat  this  is  the  case, 
and  if  we  accept  these  objects  as  belonging  to  the  Bronze 
Age,  they  will  only  show  how  little  advance  had  yet  been 
made  in  the  art  of  representing  natural  objects. 

The  foregoing  table,  which  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Dr. 
Keller,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  relative  numbers  of  the 
different  objects. 

There  is,  I  believe,  only  one  case  in  which  any  bronze 
weapon  or  implement  bears  an  inscription ;  a  fact  which  is 
the  more  significant  when  we  remember  how  often  letters 
are  met  with  on  those  of  iron.  Fig.  68  represents  this  inte- 
resting specimen,  which  is  a  winged   celt,   and  is   in  the 


DRESS  DURING  THE  BRONZE  AGE. 


45 


Inscribed  Celt. 


Museum  Kircherianum  of  the  Jesuits'  College  at  Eome.  No 
explanation  of  the  inscriiDtion  has  yet  been  given,  nor  do  we 
even  know  to  what  alphabet  the  letters  belong.  It  was 
found  in  the  Campagna,  but  there  is  unfortunately  no  record 
of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  discovered. 

The  skill  displayed  in  the  manufacture  fig.  s. 

of  the  objects  described  in  this  chapter, 
as  well  as  the  beauty  of  their  form  and 
ornamentation,  shows  a  considerable 
development  of  art.  The  discovery  of 
a  bar  of  tin  at  Bstavayer,  and  of  a 
mould  for  casting  celts  at  Morges,  has 
proved  that  some  at  least  of  these  ob- 
jects were  made  in  Switzerland,  just 
as  evidence  of  a  similar  nature  shows 
that  other  countries  in  Europe,  as,  for 
instance,  Denmark,  England,  Scotland, 
and  Ireland,  had  also  their  own  foundries.  The  similarity  of 
form  and  ornamentation  appears  also  to  indicate  some  com- 
munication between  different  parts  of  Europe ;  but  as  Corn- 
wall, Saxony,  and  Spain  are  the  only  known  European  sources 
from  which  tin  can  be  obtained  in  any  quantity,  the  mere 
presence  of  bronze  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  evidence  not  only 
of  metallurgical  skill,  but  also  of  commercial  intercourse. 

We  should  hardly,  perhaps,  have  hoped  to  ascertain  much 
of  the  manlier  in  which  the  people  of  the  Bronze  Age  were 
dressed.  Considering  how  perishable  are  the  materials  out 
of  which  clothes  are  necessarily  formed,  it  is  wonderful 
that  any.  fragments  of  them  should  have  remained  to  the 
present  day.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  skins  of 
animals  were  extensively  used  for  this  purpose,  as  indeed 
they  have  been  m  all  ages  of  man's  history ;  many  traces  of 
linen  tissue  also  have  been  found  in  English  tumuli  of  the 
Bronze  Age,  and  in  the  Swiss  Lakes.     Fig.  168  represents  a 


46 


DRESS    DURING 


piece  of  fabric  from  Robenliausen  in  Switzerland;  it  b^ 
longs,  however,  in  all  probability,  to  the  Stone  Age.  Even 
a  single  fragment  such  as  this,  throws  much  light  on  the 
manufactures,  if  we  may  call  them  so,  of  the  period  to  which 
it  belongs ;  but  fortunately  we  need  not  content  ourselves 
with  any  such  partial  knowledge  as  this,  as  we  possess  the 
whole  dress  of  a  chief  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age. 

On  a  farm  occupied  by  M.  Dahls,  near  Ribe  in  Jutland, 
are  four  tumuli,  known  as  Great  Kongehoi,  Little  Kongehoi, 
Guldhoi,  and  Treenhoi.  This  last  was  examined  in  1861 
by  MM.  Worsaae  and  Herbst.  It  is  about  fifty  ells  in 
diameter  and  six  in  height,  being  composed  of  a  loose 
sandy   earth.     In   it,   near   the   centre,    were   found   three 


Comb, 


Woollen  Caps. 

wooden  coffins,  two  of  full  size,  and  one  evidently  intended 
for  a  child.  The  coffin  with  which  we  are  now  particularly 
concerned,  was  about  9ft.  Sin.  long  and  2ft.  2in.  broad  on  the 
outside;  its  internal  measurements  were  7^ft.  long  and  1ft.  8m. 
broad.  It  was  covered  by  a  movable  lid  of  corresponding 
size.  The  contents  were  peculiar,  and  very  interestmg. 
While,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  we  find,  in  most 
ancient  graves,  only  the  bones  and  teeth,  all  the  soft  parts 
having  long  ago  decayed  away,  in  some  cases — and  this  was 
one  of  them — almost  exactly  the  reverse  has  happened. 
Through  the  action  of  water,  owing  perhaps  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  strongly  impregnated  with  iron,  the  soft  parts  of 


THE    BRONZE   AGE. 
Fig.  72. 


47 


Woollen  Cloak. 


Fig.  73. 


Fig.  74. 


Woollen  Sliirt. 


Woollen  Shawl. 


48  BURIAL   DURING 

the  body  had  been  turned  into  a  dark,  greasy  substance; 
and  the  bones,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  fragments,  were 
changed  into  a  kind  of  blue  powder. 

Singularly  enough,  the  brain  seems  to  have  been  the  part 
which  had  undergone  least  change.  On  opening  the  coffin, 
it  was  found  lying  at  one  end,  where  no  doubt  the  head  had 
originally  been  placed,  covered  by  a  thick  hemispherical 
woollen  cap,  about  six  inches  in  height  (fig.  69).  The  outer 
side  of  the  cap  was  thickly  covered  by  short  loose  threads, 
every  one  of  them  ending  in  a  small  knot,  which  gave  the 
cap  a  very  singular  appearance.  The  body  of  the  corpse  had 
been  wrapped  in  a  coarse  woollen  cloak  (fig.  72),  which  was 
almost  semicircular,  and  hollowed  out  round  the  neck.  It 
was  about  3ft.  Sin.  long,  and  broad  in  proportion.  On  its 
inner  side  were  left  hanging  a  great  number  of  short 
woollen  threads,  which  gave  it  somewhat  the  appearance  of 
plush. 

On  the  right  side  of  the  body  was  a  box,  closed  by  a 
lid  of  the  same  diameter.  It  was  7^in.  in  diameter,  6jin. 
high,  and  was  fastened  together  by  pieces  of  osier  or  bark. 
In  this  box  was  a  similar  smaller  one,  without  a  lid,  and 
in  this,  again,  were  three  articles,  namely,  a  cap  7in.  high, 
of  simply  woven  woollen  stuff  (fig.  70);  a  small  comb  Sin. 
long,  2^in.  high  (fig.  71);  and  a  small  simple  razor-knife. 

After  the  cloak  and  the  bark -box  had  been  taken  away,  two 
woollen  shawls  came  to  view,  one  of  them  covering  the  feet, 
the  other  lying  nearer  to  the  head.  They  were  of  a  square 
shape,  rather  less  than  5ft.  long,  8ft.  9in.  broad,  and  with  a 
long  fringe  (fig.  74) .  At  the  place  where  the  body  had  lain, 
was  a  shirt  (fig.  73)  also  of  woollen  material,  cut  out  a  little 
for  the  neck,  and  with  a  long  projecting  tongue  at  one  of 
the  upper  angles.  It  was  fastened  at  the  waist  by  a  long 
woollen  band,  which  went  twice  round  the  body,  and  hung 
down  in  front.     On  the  left  side  of  the  corpse  was  a  bronze 


THE    BRONZE   AGE. 


49 


Fig.  75. 


Leggings. 


sword  (fig.  27),  in  a  wooden  sheath.    It  is  2ft.  Sin.  in  length, 
and  has  a  soHd  simple  handle. 

At  the  feet  were  two  pieces  of 
woollen  stuff,  about  14^in.  long  and 
3|in.  wide  (fig.  75),  the  use  of  which 
does  not  seem  quite  clear,  though 
they  may  be  supposed  to  have  been 
leggings.  At  the  end  of  the  coffin 
were  found  traces  of  leather,  doubtless 
the  remains  of  boots.  In  the  cap,  where 
the  head  had  been,  was  some  black 
hair,  and  the  form  of  the  brain  was  still 
recognizable.  Finally,  this  ancient  war- 
rior had  been  wrapped  round  in  an  ox^s 
hide,  and  so  committed  to  the  grave. 

The  other  two  coffins  were  not  examined  by  competent 
persons,  and  the  valuable  mformation  which  they  might  have 
afforded  was  thus  lost  to  us.  The  more  indestructible 
things  were,  hoAyever,  preserved;  consisting  of  a  sword,  a 
brooch,  a  knife,  a  double-pointed  awl,  a  pair  of  tweezers, 
a  large  double  button  or  stud,  all  of  bronze ;  a  small  double 
button  of  tin,  and  a  javelin-head  of  flint. 

The  baby's  coffin  produced  only  an  amber  bead,  and  a  small 
bronze  bracelet,  consisting  of  a  simple  ring  of  metal. 

The  "  Kongshoi "  contained  four  wooden  coffins,  in  which 
were  bodies  clothed  in  woollen  garments,  a  bronze  sword  in 
a  wooden  sheath  ornamented  with  carvings,  two  bronze 
daggers,  a  wooden  bowl  ornamented  by  a  large  number  of 
tin  nails,  a  vase  of  wood,  and  a  small  box  of  bark. 

There  can,  therefore,  be  no  doubt  that  these  very  interest- 
ing tumuli  date  from  the  Bronze  Age,  and  I  am  inclined  to 
place  them  somewhat  late  in  that  period,  partly  on  account 
of  the  knife  and  razor-knife,  both  of  which  belong  to  forms 
which  there  are,  as  already  mentioned,  other  reasons  for 
6 


60  HUT-UENS. 

referring  to  the  close  of  tlie  Bronze  Ago,  and  to  the  beginning 
of  that  of  Iron.  Bronze  brooches  are  also  very  rarely  found 
in  the  Bronze  Age,  and  are  common  in  that  of  Iron.  The 
sword,  again,  belongs  to  a  form  which  is  regarded  by  Pro- 
fessor Nilsson  as  being  of  late  introduction. 

Finally,  the  mode  of  sepulture,  though  other  similar  cases 
are  on  record,  is,  to  say  the  least,  very  unusual ;  in  the  age 
of  Iron,  indeed,  the  corpse  was  generally  extended,  but  in  that 
of  Bronze  the  dead  were,  with  few  exceptions,  burned,  or 
buried  in  a  contracted  attitude.  In  Denmark,  cremation 
appears  to  have  been  almost  universal ;  in  England  I  have 
taken  out  the  statistics  of  100  cases  of  tombs  containing 
objects  of  bronze,  37  recorded  by  Mr.  Bateman  and  63  by 
Sir  R.  C.  Hoare;  and  the  following  table  shows  the  manner 
in  which  the  corpse  had  been  treated. 


Contracted. 

Burnt. 

Extended. 

Uncertain. 

Batemau 

.      15 

10 

5 

7 

Hoare . . . 

4 

49 

2 

8 

19  59  7  15 

In  100  cases  recorded  by  Mr.  Green  well  all  were  con- 
tracted and  burnt. 

We  may  consider,  therefore,  that  during  this  period  the 
corpse  was  sometimes,  though  very  rarely,  extended  on  its 
back,  and  more  frequently  it  was  buried  in  a  sitting  or  crouch- 
ing position,  and  in  a  small  chamber  formed  by  large  stones, 
but  that  the  most  usual  practice  was  to  burn  the  dead,  and 
collect  the  ashes  and  fragments  of  bones  in  or  under  an  urn. 

The  ancient  funeral  customs,  however,  will  be  more  fully 
considered  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

We  know  as  yet  very  little  about  the  architecture  of 
the  Bronze  Age.     Rougemont  *  considers  that  the  Round 

*  L'Age  du  Bronze,  p.  12,  380. 


HUT-UENS. 


51 


towers  belong  to  that  period,  but  I  know  no  sufficient  reason 
for  this  opinion.  In  the  next  chapter  I  shall  give  my  reasons 
for  referring  some  at  least  of  our  so-called  DruidicaP  re- 
mains to  that  period,  and  many  of  the  Swiss  Lake-villages 
certainly  belong  to  it.  These  remains,  indeed,  give  us  little 
information  as  to  the  kind  of  houses  then  in  use.  Certain 
*'  hut-urns,"  however,  or  urns  in  the  form  of  huts,  which 
have  been  discovered  in  Italy  and  Germany,  appear  to  be- 
long to  the  close  of  the  Bronze  Age.  The  Italian  "  hut- 
urns ''  were  discovered  in  1817*  at  Albano,  near  Rome, 
under  an  undisturbed  layer  of  peperino  or  consolidated 
volcanic  ash,  and  belong,  therefore,  to  a  time  when  the 
volcanoes  near  Rome  were  still  in  a  state  of  activity.  The 
volume  of  the  Archaeologia  for  1869  contains  a  full  ac- 
count by  Prof.  Pigorini  and  myself  of  the  numerous  vases 
and  other  objects  found  with  these  hut-urns.  The  potter^ 
is  peculiarly  dark  and  compact,  and  with  it  were  found  several 
bronze  knives.  The  presence  of  some  fragments  of  iron, 
however,  appears  to  show  that  the  huts  belong  quite  to  the 
close  of  the  Bronze  Age,  or  rather  "to  the  commencement  of 
that  of  Iron.  The  following  figure  will  give  an  idea  of 
the  urns  themselves,  as  well  as  of 
the  houses  they  were  intended  to 
represent. 

These  cases  are  not  isolated.  In 
the  year  1837  Dr.  Beyer  found 
near  Parchim  a  somewhat  similar 
hut-urn  in  a  tumulus,  which,  both 
from  its  form  and  as  containin* 
bronze,  is  considered  by  Dr.  Lisch 
as  certainly  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age  f- 


Fig.  76. 


*  See  Lettcra  del  Si^or  D.  A. 
Visconti  sopra  alcuni  vasi  sepolchrali 
rinvenuti  nolle  vicinauzo  dcUa  antica 


Hut-urn. — Albano. 

Alba-Longa.     Roma,  1867. 

t  Ueber  die  Hausornen.     Schwe- 
rin,  1856. 


52 


PEN-PITS. 


Fig.  77. 


In  1849  an  urn  evidently  intended  to  represent  a  house 
with  a  tall  straw  roof,  was  found  in  a  tumulus  at  Aschers- 
lebtn.  From  its  colour  and  material  Dr.  Lisch  refers  this 
urn  also  to  the  Bronze  Age. 

The  Museum  at  Munich 
contains  a  very  interest- 
ing piece  of  pottery  (fig. 
77),  apparently  intended 
to  represent  a  Lake- 
hamlet  comprising  seven 
small  round  huts.  The 
huts  are  arranged  in 
three  rows  of  three  each, 
thus  forming  three  sides 

Urn  apparently  representing  a  Lake-dwelling.         of  a  SquarC.      Tho    fourth 

side  is  closed  by  a  wall,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  an  opening 
leading  into  a  porch,  which  is  represented  as  being  thatched. 
The  platform  on  which  the  huts  stand,  is  supported  by  four 
columns  represented  as  consisting  of  logs,  lying  one  upon  the 
other.  The  roof  is  unfortunately  wanting.  The  sides  are 
ornamented  with  the  double  spiral  so  characteristic  of  the 
Bronze  Age. 

In  North  Gerlhany  and  Denmark  also  urns  have  been 
discovered  somewhat  resembling  that  in  fig.  76.  In  these 
cases  the  "  door "  is  in  the  roof.  Dr.  Lisch  considers  that 
these  last  urns  are  the  earliest,  and  represent  a  form  of 
dwelling  even  more  ancient  than  those  in  which  the  door 
is  in  the  side.  To  me,  I  confess,  it  seems  more  probable 
that  these  urns  belong  to  'a  later  period,  when  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  dwelling  was  more  conventional,  and  the 
resemblance  consequently  less. 

Many  of  the  dwellings  in  use  during  the  Bronze  Age  were 
no  doubt  subterranean  or  semi-subterranean.  On  almost  all 
large  tracts  of  uncultivated   land,  ancient  villages  of  this 


PICTS'    HOUSES,  53 

character  may  still  be  traced.  A  pit  was  dug,  and  the  earth 
which  was  thrown  out  formed  a  circular  wall,  the  whole  being 
then  probably  covered  over  with  boughs.  The  "  Penpits," 
near  Gillingham,  in  Wiltshire,  are  of  this  character,  and 
indicate  a  populous  settlement.  In  Anglesea,  similar  hut- 
circles  have  been  well  described  by  the  Honourable  Owen 
Stanley*.  On  Dartmoor  and  elsewhere,  where  large  blocks 
of  stone  abounded,  the  natives  saved  themselves  the  trouble 
of  excavating,  and  simply  built  up  circular  walls  of  stone. 
In  other  cases,  probably  when  concealment  was  an  object,  the 
dwellings  were  entirely  subterranean.  Such  ancient  dwell- 
ings are  in  Scotland  known  as  "  weems,"  from  "  Uamha," 
a  cave.  In  one  of  these  at  Monzie,  in  Perthshire,  a  bronze 
sword  was  discovered  f.  Such  underground  chambers, 
however,  appear  to  have  been  used  in  Scotland  as  dwellings, 
or  at  least  as  places  of  concealment,  down  to  the  time  of  the 
Komans;  for  a  weem  described  by  Lord  EosehillJ  was  con- 
structed partly  of  stones  "  showing  the  diagonal  and  diamond 
markings  peculiar  to  Eoman  workmanship,"  The  so-called 
Picts'  houses,  which  are  so  common  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
are  but  slightly,  and  often  not  at  all,  sunk  beneath  the  sur- 
face, though,  being  covered  with  earth,  they  are  scarcely 
distinguishable  externally  from  the  larger  tumuli :  but  on 
digging  into  the  green  mound,  it  is  found  to  cover  a  series  of 
large  chambers,  built  generally  with  stones  of  considerable 
size,  and  converging  towards  the  centre,  where  an  opening 
appears  to  have  been  left  for  light  and  ventilation.  Tliese 
differ  little  from  many  of  the  subterranean  weems,  excepting 
that  they  are  erected  on  the  natural  surface  of  the  soil,  and 
have  been  buried  by  means  of  an  artificial  mound  heaped 


*  On    Remains    of    the    Ancient  +  Wilson,  Pre-Historic  Annals  of 

Circular   Habitations    in    Holyhead  Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  101. 

Island.    By  the  Hon.  W.  0.  Stanley,  %  Lord  Rosehill,  Proc.  of  the  Soc. 

M.P.  of  Ant.  of  Scotland,  1869,  p.  109. 


54 


BEEHIVE    SOUSES. 


over  them.  It  may  seem  improbable  that  a  people  living  in 
such  rude  dwellings  should  possess  a  knowledge  of  metal- 
lurgy, but  the  Kaffirs  And  other  existing  African  tribes 
present  us  with  a  similar  case. 


Fig.  78. 


Group  of  Beehive  Houses. — Scotland. 

From  these  we  pass  naturally  to  the  beehive  houses,  which 
are  constructed  of  dry,  thick  walls  in  the  form  indicated 
by  the  name*.  No  doubt  many  of  these  are  very  ancient, 
and  some  probably  date  from  the  Age  of  Stone ;  but  on 
the  other  hand  they  also  come  down  to  the  present  day, 
and  fig.  78  represents  a  group  in  Long  Island,  on  the  shore 
of  Loch  Resort,  which  was  inhabited  down  to  the  year  1823. 
Even  now  some  few  beehive  houses  are  still  occupied  in  the 
Island  of  Uig. 

Fig.  79. 


The  Burgh  ol  ..i,,.. 

*  See  Capt.  Thomas   on   Beehiro       also  Petrie,  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scot- 
flouses,  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,       land,  vol.  vii.  p.  201. 
vol.  iii.  p.  133  ;  vol.  vii.  p.  153.    See 


THE   BURGH    OF   MOUSSA.  55 

The  celebrated  "  brochs  "  or  "  burghs  "  which  abound  in 
the  north  of  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  the  Orkneys  and  Shet- 
lands,  are  of  a  very  peculiar  character.  They  have  been  sup- 
posed by  some  to  be  Scandinavian,  but  no  similar  buildings 
occur  in  Norway,  Sweden,  or  Denmark,  so  that  this  style  of 
architecture  is  no  doubt  anterior  to  the  arrival  of  the  North- 
men. 

Fig.  79  is  copied  from  a  photograph  of  the  celebrated 
Burgh  of  Moussa,  in  the  Shetlauds,  the  best  preserved  speci- 
men of  this  curious  style  of  architecture.  I  visited  this 
most  interesting  buildiug  in  1867.  It  stands  close  to  tho 
sea  on  the  little  island  of  Moussa.  It  is  circular  in  form, 
41  feet  in  height,  and  open  at  the  top;  the  central  space 
is  about  20  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  walls  are  about  14  feet 
thick  at  the  base  and  8  at  the  top.  They  contain  a  stair- 
case, which  leads  to  the  top  of  the  building,  several  horizontal 
galleries,  and  some  small  conical  chambers,  all  opening  on 
the  inside ;  the  only  external  orifice  being  the  door,  which  is 
about  7  feet  high. 

The  absence  of  trees  and  abundance  of  stone  probably  led 
to  this  curious  style  of  architecture.  Although,  moreover,  so 
archaic  in  character,  these  burghs  continued  in  use  down  to 
historical  times,  in  fact  until  the  introduction  of  lime,  and 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  principle  of  the  arch,  enabled  the 
natives  to  construct  buildings  of  a  more  modern  character ; 
these  burghs  are  extremely  numerous  in  Caithness,  in  the 
Orkneys  and  the  Shetlands,  but  this  Moussa  Burgh  is  one 
of  the  few  that  are  mentioned  in  history.  Torfoeus  tells  us 
that  about  the  year  1150  Erling  carried  off  the  beautiful 
Margaret,  mother  of  Harold,  the  then  Earl  of  Orkney,  and 
was  besieged  in  M'oussa  by  Harold,  who,  however,  being 
unable  to  take  the  place,  at  length  thought  it  politic  to 
consent  to  the  marriage.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  the 
burghs  are  mere  ruins,  and  the  so-called  Dun  of  Dornadilla, 


56 


8TAIQUE   FOET,    KERRY. 


supposed  to  have  been  erected  by  the  ancient  Scotch  King 
of  that  name,  is  the  only  one  which  is  at  all  as  complete  as 
that  of  Moussa.  Whether  any  of  the  burghs  go  back  to 
the  Bronze  Age  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  is  remarkable, 
however,  that  in  the  Island  of  Sardinia  there  are  archaic 
buildings  known  as  "  nurhags,"  which  very  closely  resemble 
the  British  burghs. 


Fig.  so. 


Staigue  Fort.— Kerry. 

In  a  future  chapter  I  shall  endeavour  to  show  that  Stone- 
henge  and  Abury  belong  to  the  Bronze  Age.  Some  of 
the  ancient  fortifications  also  probably  are  of  this  period, 
but  a  large  j^roportion,  as  for  instance  the  Staigue  Fort,  in 
the  county  of  Kerry,  fig.  80^  belong  in  all  probability  to  a 
much  later  period. 


67 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE      BRONZE     AGE. 


THERE  are  four  principal  theories  as  to  the  Bronze  Age. 
According  to  some  archeeologists,  the  discovery,  or 
introduction,  of  bronze  was  unattended  by  any  other  great 
or  sudden  change  in  the  condition  of  the  people ;  but  was 
the  result,  and  is  the  evidence,  of  a  gradual  and  peaceable 
development.  Some  attribute  the  bronze  arms  and  imple- 
ments, found  in  Northern  Europe,  to  the  Roman  armies,  some 
to  the  Phoenician  merchants ;  while  others,  again,  consider 
that  the  men  of  the  Stone  Age  were  replaced  by  a  new  and 
more  civilized  people  of  Indo-European  race,  coming  from 
the  East ;  who,  bringing  with  them  a  knowledge  of  bronze, 
overran  Europe,  and  dispossessed — in  some  places  entirely 
destroying — the  original,  or  rather  the  earlier  inhabitants. 

M.  Wibel  *  believes  that  the  civilization  of  the  Bronze  Age 
originated  in  the  South  of  England,  from  whence  it  spread  over 
other  parts  of  Europe.  He  is  also  of  opinion  that  the  ancient 
bronze  was  obtained,  not  by  the  fusion  of  copper  and  of  tin, 
but  directly  from  ore  containing  the  two  metals.  This,  I 
confess,  seems  to  me  extremely  improbable  f,  and  I  cannot 
but  agree  with  those  who  maintain  that  the  knowledge  of 
bronze  must  necessarily  have  been  preceded  by  the  separate 
use  of  copper  and  of  tin.  Yet  no  single  implement  of  the 
latter  metal  has  been  hitherto  found  in  Europe,  while  those 

*  DieCulturderBronze-zcit  Nord-imdMittcl-Europas.  Dr.  F.  Wibcl,  Kiel, 
t  See  Appendix. 


58  SIMILARITY    OF    BEONZE    IMPLEMENTS 

of  copper  are  extremely  rare  ;  Hungary  and  Ireland^  indeed, 
have  been  supposed  to  form  partial  exceptions  to  this  rule. 
The  geographical  position  of  the  former  country  is  probably 
a  sufficient  explanation ;  and  as  far  as  Ireland  is  concerned, 
it  may  perhaps  be  worth  while  to  examine  how  far  that 
country  really  forms  an  exception.  In  the  great  Museum  at 
Dublin  there  are  725  celts  and  celt-like  chisels,  282  swords 
and  daggers,  and  276  lances,  javelins,  and  arrow-heads;  yet 
out  of  these  1283  weapons  only  30  celts  and  one  sword-blade 
are  said  to  be  of  pure  copper  *.  I  say  "  are  said  to  be," 
because  they  have  not  been  analyzed,  but  are  supposed  to 
be  copper  only  from  the  "  phj^sical  properties  and  ostensible 
colour  of  the  metal :"  indeed  one  of  these  very  celts,  which 
was  analyzed  by  Mr.  Mallet,  was  found  to  contain  a  small 
percentage  of  tin.  It  is  possible  that  for  some  of  the  pur- 
poses to  which  celts  were  applied,  copper  may  have  been 
nearly  as  useful  as  bronze,  and  at  any  rate  it  might  some- 
times have  happened  that,  from  a  deficiency  of  tin,  some 
implements  would  be  made  of  copper  only. 

Taking  these  facts  into  consideration,  Ireland  certainly 
does  not  appear  to  present  any  strong  evidence  of  an  age 
of  copper,  while  no  one  has  ever  pretended  to  find  either 
there,  or  any  where  else  in  Europe,  a  trace  of  any  separate 
use  of  tin  f- 

Sir  W.  E.  Wilde  admits  it  to  be  "  remarkable  that  so  few 
antique  copper  implements  have  been  found,  although  a 
knowledge  of  that  metal  must  have  been  the  preliminary 
stage  in  the  manufacture  of  bronze. ^^  He  thinks,  however, 
that  "  the  circumstance  may  be  accounted  for,  either  by  sup- 
posing that  but  a  short  time  elapsed  between  the  knowledge 
of  smelting  and  casting  copper  ore,  and  the  introduction  of 

*  One  even  of  these  is  with  good  poses  of  ornamentation,  but  that  of 

reason  considered  by  Dr.  Wildo  to  bo  course  does  not   affect  the   present 

an  American  specimen.  argument. 

t  It  was  sometimes  used  for  pur- 


IN   DIFFERENT   COUNTRIES,  59 

tirij  and  subsequent  manufacture  and  use  of  bronze  ;  or  from 
the  probability  of  nearly  all  such  articles  having  been  re- 
cast and  converted  into  bronze,  subsequent  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  tin,  which  renders  them  harder,  sharper,  and  more 
valuable*." 

Any  argument  used  by  Sir  W.  R.  Wilde  is  of  course 
entitled  to  respectful  attention,  but  on  the  whole,  the  absence 
of  implements  made  either  of  copper  or  tin  seems  to  me  to 
mdicate  that  the  art  of  making  bronze  was  introduced  into, 
not  invented  in,  Europe. 

Another  circumstance  which  strongly  militates  against  the 
theory  of  a  gradual  and  independent  development  of  metal- 
lurgical knowledge  in  different  countries,  is  the  fact  which 
has  been  broadly  stated  by  Mr.  Wright,  that  whenever  we 
find  the  bronze  swords  or  celts,  "  whether  in  Ireland  in  the 
far  west,  in  Scotland,  in  distant  Scandinavia,  in  Germany, 
or  still  farther  east  in  the  Sclavonic  countries,  they  are  the 
same — not  similar  in  character,  but  identical."  The  great 
resemblance  of  stone  implements  found  in  different  parts  of 
the  world  may  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for  by  the  simi- 
larity of  the  material,  and  the  simplicity  of  the  forms.  But 
this  argument  cannot  be  applied  to  the  bronze  arms  and 
implements.  Not  only  arc  several  varieties  of  celts  found 
throughout  Europe,  but  some  of  the  swords,  knives,  daggers, 
etc.,  are  so  similar,  that  they  seem  as  if  they  must  have  been 
cast  by  the  same  maker.  Compare,  for  mstance,  figs.  4,  G, 
and  13,  which  represent  Irish  celts,  with,  14,  15,  and  16, 
which  are  copied  from  Danish  specimens ;  the  three  swords, 
figs.  22,  23,  and  24,  which  come  respectively  from  Ireland, 
Sweden,  and  Switzerland,  and  the  two,  figs.  25  and  26,  of 
which  the  first  is  Swiss,  the  second  Scandinavian.  It  would 
have  been  easy  to  multiply  examples  of  this  similarity,  and 
it  is  not  going  too  far  to  say  that  these  resemblances  cannot 
*  Wilde,  I.e.  p.  357. 


60  eiHTLAKTry  op  bronze  implements. 

be  the  it?siilt  of  accident.  Ou  the  other  hand,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  each  country  has  certain  minor  pecuharities. 
Neither  the  forms  nor  the  ornaments  are  exactly  similar. 
In  Denmark  and  Mecklenburgh,  spii'al  ornaments  are  most 
common;  farther  south,  these  are  replaced  by  ring  orna- 
ments and  lines.  The  Danish  swords  generally  have  solid, 
and  richly  decorated  handles,  as  in  figs.  25-31,  while  those 
found  in  Great  Britain  (fig.  22)  terminate  in  a  plate  which 
was  riveted  to  pieces  of  wood  or  bone.  Again,  the  British 
lance-heads  frequently  have  loops  at  the  side  of  the  shaft- 
hole,  as  in  fig.  35,  which  is  never  the  case  with  Danish 
specimens. 

The  impurities  in  the  bronze  indicate,  as  was  shown  in  the 
last  chapter,  that  the  copper  ore  was  not  all  derived  from 
one  locality,  and,  lastly,  the  discovery  of  moulds  in  Ireland, 
Scotlaiid,  England,  Switzerland,  Denmark,  and  elscAvhcre, 
proves  that  the  art  of  casting  in  bronze  was  known  and  prac- 
tised in  many  countries.  Under  these  circumstances  it 
appears  most  probable  that  the  knowledge  of  metal  is  one  of 
those  great  discoveries  which  Europe  owes  to  the  East,  and 
that  the  use  of  copper  was  not  introduced  into  our  Continent 
until  it  had  been  observed  that  by  the  addition  of  a  small 
quantity  of  tin  it  was  rendered  harder  and  more  valuable. 

I  have  already,  in  the  first  chapter,  given  the  reasons 
which  have  convinced  me  that  the  bronze  weapons  are  not 
of  Roman  origin.  M.  Wiberg*  has  recently  attempted  to 
show  that  bronze  was  introduced  into  the  north  by  Etrurian 
merchants,  but  we  have  not,  I  think,  any  evidence  that 
Etruria  ever  enjoyed  so  extensive  a  commerce  as  that  indi- 
cated by  the  great  number  of  bronze  objects  which  have 
been  found  in  northern  and  western  Europe. 

We  may,  therefore,  pass  on  to  the  views  of  those  who 
attribute  the  Bronze  Age  civilization   to   the   influence  of 

•  Arch.  f.  Antlir'pp.  1870,  p.  10. 


THE    BRONZE   AGE   AND   THE    PH(ENICIANS.  61 

Phoemcian  commerce,  a  theory  which  has  recently  been  main- 
tained, with  great  ability,  by  Professor  Nilsson*.  Sir  George 
Cornewall  Lewis  f,  on  the  other  hand,  while  admitting  that 
Cornwall  was  the  great  source  of  tin  in  ancient  times,  has 
endeavoured  to  prove  that  this  metal  found  its  way  "  to  the 
nations  in  the  east  of  the  Mediterranean  by  the  overland 
route  across  Gaul,  and  that  the  Phojuician  ships  brought  it 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone,  without  saihng  as  far  as 
Britain." 

He  regards,  therefore,  the  accounts  of  ancient  voyages  as 
being  in  many  cases  either  mythical,  or  at  least  exaggerated, 
but  he  does  not  make  sufficient  allowance  for  the  fact  that 
our  knowledge  of  them  is  often  derived  from  unfriendly 
critics  or  poetical,  allusions ;  nor  need  we  go  farther  than  Sir 
Cornewall  Lewis'  own  work  to  show  how  authors  may  suffer 
by  this  mode  of  treatment  J, 

Take,  for  instance,  the  case  of  Himilco,  who  was  sent 
during  the  prosperous  times  of  Carthage  to  examine  the 
north-western  coasts  of  Europe.  His  writings  have  unfor- 
tunately perished,  and  our  knowledge  of  them  derived  from 
the  "  Ora  maritima,"  a  geographical  poem  by  Avienus,  is 
thus  summed  up  by  Sir  Cornewall  Lewis :  "  The  report  of 
Himilco,  that  the  voyage  from  Gades  to  the  Tin  Islands 
(i.  e.  to  Coi-nwall)  occupied  at  least  four  months  ;  and  that 
navigation  in  these  remote  waters  was  impeded  by  the 
motionless  air,  by  the  abundance  of  seaweed,  and  by  the 
monsters  of  the  deep — -fables  which  the  ancient  mariners 
recounted  of  unexplored  seas — would  not  be  very  attractive 
for  the  traders  of  the  Carthaginian  colonies."      This  argu- 

«  Skandinaviska  Nordcns  Ur-inva-  +    In  the  long    chapter  which  ho 

nare.  Af.  S.  Nilsson,  Stockholm, 1862.  devoted     to    the    Egyptian    Chrono- 

t  An  Historical  Survey  of  the  As-  logy   and    Hieroglyphics,    the  name 
tronomy  of  the   Aiicients.      By  the  of    Dr.    Young    ia    not    once    men- 
Right  Hon.    Sir   George   Cornewall  tioned. 
Lewis,  1862.  . 


62  ANCIENT  VOYAGES.       HIMILCO. 

ment  is  surely  very  weak,  because,  if  Himilco  really  did 
make  this  voyage,  then  such  voyages  were  possible;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  ho  did  not  do  so,  and  if  his  statements 
were  such  mere  fables,  we  may  safely  assume  that  the  shrewd 
merchants  of  Carthage  would  detect  the  imposition,  and 
would  extract  the  truth,  if  not  from  Himilco  himself,  at  any 
rate  from  some  of  those  by  whom  he  was  accompanied. 

But  let  that  pass;  we  will  examine  the  four  "fables" 
specially  referred  to  by  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis.     It  is  unnecessary 
to  say  any  thing  about  the  "  motionless  air  ;"  it  would  be 
doing  an  injustice  to  Sir  Cornewall  Lewis  to  suppose  that 
he   regarded  this  as  a  serious  objection.      It   may  be  an 
invention,  but  it  is  not  an  improbability.     Neither  is  the 
time  occupied  by  an  exploring  expedition  any  test  of  that 
which  would  be  required  for  a  commercial  voyage.     Nor 
can  I  lay  any  stress  on  the  statement  that  Himilco's  vessels 
were  "  impeded "  by  the   monsters    of  the   deep.      What 
Avienus  really  said  was,  as  Sir  CorneVall  Lewis  admits  in 
another  passage,  that  while  becalmed  and  lying  in  a  helpless 
state,   the   ships  were  ''  surrounded  by  marine  monsters^." 
It  might  fairly  be  argued  that  whales  were  in  all  probability 
more  numerous  on  our  coasts  in  ancient  times  than  they  are 
now ;  the  great  mammalia  of  the  sea,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
land,  have  given  way  before  the  overwhelming  power  of  man. 
But  it  is  unnecessary  to  urge  this  hypothesis ;  the  great 
monsters  of  the  deep  have  in  all  ages  appealed  strongly  to 
the  imagination  of  mankind,  and  no  poet  would  fail  to  allude 
to  them  in  describing  the  dangers  which  beset  those  "  who 
go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  and  occupy  their  business  in 
great  waters. ■*' 

The  third  point  alluded  to  by  Sir  Cornewall  Lewis,  so  far 
from  throwing  any  doubt  on  the  veracity  of  Himilco,  appears 
rather  to  be  an  argument  in  his  favour.     His  ships,  he  says, 
*  See  Appendix. 


PYTHEAS.  63 

or  at  least  Avienus  says  for  him,  were  "  surrounded  by  sea- 
weed."    Where  was  he  when  this  took  place  ?      All  that 
we  can   say  in  answer  to  this  question  is,  that  he   sailed 
through  the   Pillars  of  Hercules  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
and  we  know  that  a  few  days'  sail  in  this  direction  would 
have  brought  him  to  the  "  Mare  di  Sargasso,"  a  sea  which 
has  actually  taken  its  name  from  the   quantity  of  seaweed 
(Sargasso)  growing  in  it.     Sir  C.  Lewis  says,   "  The  notion 
of  remote  seas  being  impassable  by  ships,  cither  from  their 
shoals,  or  from  the  obstacles  to  navigation  produced  by  the 
semi-fluid  and  muddy  properties  of  the  water,   frequently 
recurs  among  the  ancients  ;"  and  it  is  true,  no  doubt,  that 
statements  of  this  kind  are  made  by  many  ancient  writers, 
as,  for  instance,  by  Herodotus,  Plato,  Scylax,  and  even  Aris- 
totle ;  but  not  ojie  of  these  writers  alludes  to  "  seaweed "  as 
an  impediment  to    navigation^   and  it  can  hardly  be  acci- 
dental, that  the  only  voyager  by  whom  this  is  referred  to, 
was  one  who  sailed  on  a  course  Avhich,  if  persevered  in  for  a 
few  days,  would  have  brought  him  to  that  which  is  even  now 
known  as  the  Sea  of  Seaweed  *. 

Pythoas  is  another  ancient  writer,  whose  character  has 
suffered  very  much  in  the  hands  of  Sir  C.  Le\\ds,  who,  rely- 
ing on  the  authority  of  Polybius  and  Strabo,  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  stigmatize  him  as  a  mendacious  impostor.  Polybius 
doubts  the  journeys  of  Pytheas,  because  Pytheas  was  a 
poor  man ;  but  the  great  travellers  and  explorers  of  the 
present  day  do  not  generally  belong  to  our  wealthy  fami- 
lies. Sti'abo  seems  to  have  been  prejudiced  against  Pytheas, 
because  he  professed  to  have  visited  countries  which  ought, 
.  according  to  Strabo's  theory,  to  have  been  uninhabitable. 
Moreover,  we  should  remember  that  the  first  travellers  in  the 

*  May  not  the  belief  in  the  "At-  rally  suggest  the  idea  of  sunken  land, 
lantis  "  be  as  probably  owing  to  the  as  to  any  of  the  other  causes  which 
"  gulf-weed,"  which  would  so  natu-       are  usually  assigned  for  it  ? 


64  PYTHEAS. 

Nortli  must  have  seen,  and  ou  their  return  would  describe, 
many  things  which  would  appear  impossible  or  incomprehen- 
sible to  dwellers  on  the  sunny  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Sir  C.  Lewis  refers  specially  to  four  ipcredible  assertions 
made  by  Pytheas.  First,  he  is  said  to  have  related  that 
"  if  any  person  placed  iron  in  a  rude  state  at  the  mouth  of 
the  volcano  in  the  island  of  Lipari,  together  with  some 
money,  he  found  on  the  morrow  a  sword  or  any  other  article 
which  he  wanted,  in  its  place."  This,  however,  merely 
shows  that  the  myth  of  Valand,  Wielant,  Weland,  or  in 
our  popular  dialect,  Wayland  Smith,  was  current  in  the 
Lipari  islands  at  the  time  of  Pytheas  *.  This  myth,  more- 
over, is  but  a  very  slightly  modified  account  of  what  actually 
has  taken  place  more  than  once  when  an  ignorant  people, 
living  by  the  side  of  a  more  civilized  race,  and.  attributing 
their  superiority  to  magical  arts,  has  been  anxious  to  benefit 
by  their  necromancy,  and  yet  afraid  to  come  in  contact  with 
the  magicians  themselves.  Thus  "  the  Veddahs  of  Ceylon, 
when  they  wanted  arrows,  used  to  bring  some  flesh  in  the 
night,  and  hang  it  up  in  a  smith's  shop,  also  a  leaf  cut  in 
the  form  they  will  have  their  arrows  made,  and  hang  by  it; 
which  if  the  smith  do  make  according  to  their  pattern,  they 
will  acquite  and  bring  him  more  fleshf."  If  our  knowledge 
of  this  peculiar  mode  of  barter  had  been  derived  from  the 
Veddahs,  it  would  undoubtedly  have  taken  the  form  of  the 

*  On  this  interesting  subject,  see  says  :  "  Ces  ouverturos  sont  connucs 

Wright.     Archaeol.  vol.  xxxii.  p.  315.  des  habitans  cle  rendroit  sous  le  nom 

t  Knox's  Historical  Relation  of  the  de  Trous  des  Sottais.    Us  pretcndcnt 

Island  Ceylon.  London,  1681.  Quoted  que  jadis  ces  grottes  servaient  d'habi- 

in  the  Ethnological  Society's  Trans.  tation  h,  une  espece  humaine  d'une 

vol.  ii.  p.  285,  N.S.     See  also  Sir  J.  trcs  petite  taille,  Sottais,  nains,  pyg- 

E.  Tennent's  Ceylon,   vol.  i.  p.  593.  mees,  qui  y  vivaient  do  leur  industrie, 

The  Belgian  form  of  the  myth  as  re-  et  restauraient  tout  ce  qu'on  deposait 

lated  by  Schmerling  (Ossements  fos-  pres  des  ouverturos,  i\  condition  que 

siles,  vol.  i.  p.  43)   still  more  closely  Von  y  ajoutdt  des  vivres.   En  tres  peu 

resembles  the  account  given  by  Knox.  de  temps  ces  cffcts  I'taient  repares,  et 

Speaking  of  the  caves  near  Liege,  he  remis  a  la  raeme  place." 


PYTHEAS.  Ob 

old  European  myth.  The  metallurgists  of  old,  to  preserve 
their  monopoly,  evidently  had  a  great  interest  in  keeping  up 
this  superstition. 

Sir  Corncwall  Lewis,  in  the  second  place,  accuses  Pytheas- 
of  having  described  the  sea  round  the  Lipari  islandvS  as  being 
in  a  boiling  state.  But  we  do  not  know  what  his  exact  words 
were,  and  cannot  fairly  judge  him,  for  it  makes  a  great 
difference  whether  he  was  repeating  a  statement  made  to 
him,  or  making  one  on  his  own  authority.  Moreover,  wo 
must  remember  that  there  have  been  submarine  eruptions 
in  the  Mediterranean,  and  that  the  Lipari  islands  lie  be- 
tween Mount  Etna  and  Vesuvius,  in  the  very  centre  of  an 
active  volcanic  area.  These  tw^o  mountains,  which  for  the 
last  two  thousand  years  have  been  more  or  less  frequently 
in  eruption,  seem  to  have  enjoyed  a  long  period  of  rest, 
during  which  the  Lipari  islands  served  as  a  vent.  It  seems 
to  me  therefore  highly  probable  that  this  statement  made 
by  Pytheas  was  a  perfectly  truthful  record  of  an  actual 
occurrence. 

Tlie  third  difficulty  is  the  assertion,  that  round  the  island 
of  Thule,  Pytheas  saw  a  substance  which  was  neither  earth, 
air,  nor  water,  but  a  substance  resembling  medusae  or  jelly- 
fishes  {-rrvev/jiovi  OaXaaauo  e'ot/to?),  which  could  neither  be 
passed  on  foot  nor  in  ships.  This  passage,  which  has  com- 
pletely puzzled  southern  commentators,  is  regarded  by  Pro- 
fessor Nilsson  as  a  striking  evidence  of  Pytheas^  veracity. 
For  when  the  northern  ocean  freezes,  this  does  not  happen 
as  in  our  ponds  or  lakes,  but  small,  separate  plates  of  ice  are 
formed,  and  as  soon  as  this  process  commences,  the  fisher- 
men hurry  to  the  shore,  lest  they  should  be  caught  in  the 
ice,  which  for  some  time  is  too  thick  to  permit  the  passage 
of  a  boat,  yet  too  weak  to  support  the  weight  of  a  man.  A 
very  similar  description  is  given  by  Captain  Lyon.  "  "We 
came,"  he  says,  "  amongst  young  ice,  in  that  state  called 
7 


66  PYTHEAS. 

sludge,  whicli  resembles  in  appearance  and  consistency  a  far 
better  thing — lemon  ice.  From  this  we  came  to  small  round 
plates,  of  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  which  have  the  appear- 
ance of  the  scales  of  gigantic  fishes  *."  Richardson  also 
particularly  mentions  the  "  circular  plates  of  ice,  six  or 
eight  inches  in  diameter f,"  These  discs  of  ice  tossed  about 
by  the  waves  suggested  to  Professor  Nilsson  himself,  when 
he  first  saw  them,  the  idea  of  a  crowd  of  medusae,  and  if  we 
imagine  a  southerner  who  had  never  before  witnessed  such  a 
phenomenon,  and  who  on  his  return  home  wished  to  describe 
it  to  his  fellow-countrymen,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to 
find  an  apter  or  more  ingenious  simile.  It  is,  at  any  rate, 
not  more  far-fetched  or  less  appropriate  than  that  used  by 
Herodotus,  when,  in  order  to  describe  a  heavy  snow-storm, 
he  compared  it  to  a  fall  of  feathers. 

"  Fourthly,^^  says  Sir  C.  Lewis,  "  Pytheas  affirmed  that  in 
returning  from  his  great  northern  voyage,  in  which  he  first 
obtained  accounts  of  the  remote  island  of  Thule,  he  had  sailed 
along  the  entire  coast  of  the  ocean  between  Gadeira  and  the 
Tanais ;  that  is  from  Cadiz  round  Spain,  Gaul,  Germany,  and 
Scythia,  to  the  river  Don,  which  was  considered  by  the 
ancients  as  the  boundary  of  Europe  and  Asia.  This  state- 
ment furnishes  an  additional  proof  of  the  mendacity  of 
Pytheas,  because  it  is  founded  on  the  belief,  received  in  his 
time,  that  Europe  did  not  project  far  to  the  North,  and  that 
the  Ocean  swept  along  its  shores  to  the  north  of  Scythia  and 
India."  Pytheas,  however,  did  not,  in  reality,  lay  himself 
open  to  any  such  accusation;  the  passage  on  which  Sir  C. 
Lewis  relies  only  affirms  that  after  his  return  from  the  north 
{eiraveXOwv  evdevhe)  he  travelled  along  the  whole  coast  of 
Europe  from  Cadiz  to  the  Don.  This,  which  evidently 
refers  to  a  second  journey,  is  a  very  different  statement,  and 
one  which  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt. 

*  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  84.  f  Arctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  97. 


PH(ENICIAN   COLONIES   AND    COMMERCE.  67 

According  to  Gominus,  Pytheas  in  his  northern  journey 
reached  a  place  where  the  nights  were  only  two  or  three  hours 
long,  and  he  adds  that  the  l^arbarians  took  him  to  see  the  place 
where  the  sun  slept.  These  two  statements  seem  to  point  to 
Donnas  as  the  northernmost  point  of  his  voyage.  Here  the 
shortest  night  is  two  hours  long,  but  behind  the  town  is  a 
mountain,  the  top  of  which  is  the  southernmost  point  from 
which  the  midnight  sun  can  be  seen.  ITie  inhabitants  took 
Professor  Nilsson  here  in  the  year  1 81 6,  to  show  him  the  place 
where  the  sun  rested,  just  as  their  predecessors  may  have  con- 
ducted Pytheas  to  the  same  spot,  for  the  same  purpose,  more 
than  2000  years  before.  On  this  subject  I  will  only  add  that 
Pytheas  was  no  mere  wanderer,  but  a  distinguished  astro- 
nomer, who,  with  the  help  of  the  gnomon  only,  estimated  the 
latitude  of  Marseilles  at  43°  17'  8",  a  calculation  which  differs 
merely  by  a  few  seconds  from  the  result  given  by  modern 
astronomers — namely,  43°  17'  52". 

I  have  dwelt  at  some  length  on  this  part  of  my  subject,  for 
while  we  are  all  anxious  to  pay  due  honour  to  our  modern 
travellers,  to  Livingstone  and  Galton,  to  Speke  and  Grant, 
we  ought  not  to  forget  those  who  led  the  way.  The  memory 
of  great  men  is  a  precious  legacy,  which  we  cannot  afford 
lightly  to  surrender,  and  not  the  least  valuable  part  of  Pro- 
fessor Nilsson's  work  on  the  Bronze  Age  is  the  chapter  in 
which  he  has  rescued  the  memory  of  Pytheas  from  the  cloud 
by  which  it  has  been  so  long  and  so  unjustly  obscured. 

But  even  if  Sir  Cornewall  Lewis  could  have  established  his 
case,  and  destroyed  our  faith  in  these  particular  expeditions, 
still  there  remain  overwhelming  proofs  of  an  important  and 
extended  commerce  in  even  more  ancient  times  than  those  of 
Pytheas  or  Himilco.  The  evidence  of  this  has  been  well  put 
together  by  Dr.  Smith*,  of  Camborne,  to  whose  work  I 
would  refer  those  who  may  wish  for  more  detailed  informa- 
*  The  Cassiterides,  by  George  Smith,  LL.D. 


68  PHCENICIAN    COLONIES    AND    COMMERCE. 

tion ;  for  the  present  I  must  content  myself  with  referring 
to  a  few  well-known  facts,  which,  however,  will  be  sufficient 
for  my  present  purpose. 

We  know,  then,  that  Marseilles  was  founded  by  the  Pho- 
cean  Greeks  B.C.  600 ;  Carthage  is  supposed  to  have  been 
built  by  the  Phoenicians  about  800  b.c.  ;  and  Utica,  according 
to  Strabo  and  Pliny,  about  300  years  earlier  still ;  while, 
according  to  Vellcius  Paterculus  and  Pomponius  Mela,  the 
city  of  Gades  (Cadiz)  was  founded  by  the  Tyrians  not  long 
after  the  fall  of  Troy.  Before  such  facts  as  these,  the  sup- 
posed improbability  of  Pytheas'  voyage  to  Norway  falls  to 
the  ground.  The  distance  between  Cadiz  and  Phoenicia  is 
more  than  2000  miles,  and  it  is  greater  than  that  between 
Cadiz  and  Norway.  Even,  therefore,  if  Pytheas  effected  all 
that  has  been  claimed  for  him,  he  will  not  have  made  a  longer 
voyage  than  hundreds  of  his  countrymen  had  done,  a  thousand 
years  before. 

The  above-given  dates  must  not,  of  course,  be  considered 
as  exact,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  their  general  accu- 
racy. Not  only  do  the  writings  of  Hesiod  and  Homer,  which 
are  probably  not  of  a  later  date  than  800  B.C.,  and  probably 
somewhat  earlier,  show  that  the  nations  on  the  eastern  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean  were  at  that  time  highly  civilized,  and 
had  a  considerable  commerce,  but  we  have  very  valuable 
evidence  of  the  same  fact  in  the  Biblical  narrative.  Indeed, 
brass,  i.  e.  bronze,  is  mentioned  in  the  fourth  chapter  of 
Genesis,  which  would  be,  according  to  the  chronology  of  the 
established  version,  3875  b.c.  ;  but  there  is  so  much  doubt 
about  these  dates,  that  I  do  not  feel  disposed  to  rely  on  this 
isolated  passage.  The  high  civilization  of  Egypt  in  the  time 
of  Joseph  is,  however,  apparent  to  every  reader  of  the  book 
of  Exodus.  Again,  when  Solomon  prepared  to  build  the 
temple  in  Jerusalem,  he  sent  unto  the  king  of  Tyre  for  cedar- 
trees  out  of  Lebanon,  "  for  thou  knowest,''  he  said,  "  that 


COPPER.  69 

there  is  not  among  us  any  that  can  skill  to  hew  timber  like 
unto  the  Sidonians "  (1  Kings  v.  6) ;  and  again  we  read, 
{I.e.  vii.  13,  14)  .that  "King  Solomon  sent  and  fetched  Hiram 
out  of  Tyre.  He  was  a  widow's  son  of  the  tribe  of  Naphtali, 
and  his  father  was  a  man  of  Tyre,  a  worker  in  brass  :  and  he 
was  filled  with  wisdom,  and  understanding,  and  cunning  to 
work  all  works  in  brass."  It  is  admitted  that  the  word  which 
here,  and  in  so  many  other  passages,  is  translated  "  brass,'' 
should  rather  be  "  bronze."  This  latter,  which  was  the  com- 
mon metal  of  antiquity,  is  never  mentioned  in  our  version, 
while  on  the  other  hand,  the  alloy  which  we  now  term  brass, 
and  which  is  composed  of  copper  and  zinc,  was  not  known  in 
ancient  times. 

Now  this  bronze,  which  from  the  wholly  independent 
statements  of  Homer  and  in  the  Book  of  Kings,  we  find  to 
have  been  so  abundant  in  the  East  three  thousand  years 
ago,  was  composed  of  copper  and  tin,  in  the  proportions 
of  about  nine  parts  of  the  former  to  one  of  the  latter; 
and  the  question  therefore  arises,  whence  were  these  metals 
obtained? 

Copper  is  found  in  so  many  countries,  that  we  cannot,  as 
yet,  form  any  definite  opinion  as  to  the  source,  or  sources, 
from  which  it  was  derived  by  the  Phoenicians.  Nevertheless, 
we  have  some  reason  to  hope  and  expect  that  we  shall  even- 
tually be  able  to  do  so,  because  the  slight  impurities  by  which 
it  is  accompanied  afibrd  a  clue  to  the  country  from  which  it 
was  obtained.  As  regards  tin,  the  case  is  very  different; 
although  ores  of  this  metal  are  found  in  other  countries,  as 
for  instance  in  France,  in  Portugal,  in  Saxony,  in  Spain, 
and  in  Siberia,  still  almost  all  the  tin  now  used  is  de- 
rived either  from  Cornwall,  or  from  the  island  of  Banca, 
which  lies  between  Sumatra  and  Borneo.  In  ancient  times 
a  certain  amount  of  tin  was  no  doubt  obtained  in  Spain  *, 

*  See  Howarth,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1867,  p.  80.     See  also  Appendix. 


70  SOURCES    OF   TIN. 

but,  as  Dr.  Smitli  observes  *,  "  the  most  remarkable  feature 
in  tin  mining  seems  to  be  the  enduring  character  of  the 
mines.  Wherever  tin  has  been  produced  in  any  considerable 
quantities,  within  the  range  of  authentic  history,  there  it  is 
still  abundantly  found.  In  Banca,  we  are  told,  the  supply 
is  inexhaustible ;  and  Cornwall  can  now  supply  as  largo  a 
quantity  annually  as  it  ever  could."  The  result  of  inquiries 
made  of  the  Government  Engineers,  at  the  College  of  Mines 
in  Madrid,  is  as  follows  :  ''  I  cannot  learn  that  Spain  ever 
produced  any  quantity  of  this  metal.  The  Government  do 
not  work  any  mines  of  tin.  The  quantity  being  produced 
at  present  is  very  small,  chiefly  by  streamers;  or  rather 
labourers,  while  out  of  their  regular  employment,  search 
some  of  the  rivers  near  the  granite  hills  in  Galicia  and  in 
Zamora.  I  cannot  learn  that  there  is  any  tin  mining  in  the 
country." 

Unless,  then,  the  ancients  had  some  source  of  tin  with 
which  we  are  unacquainted,  it  seems  to  be  well  established, 
and  is  indeed  admitted  even  by  Sir  Cornewall  Lewis,  that  the 
Phoenician  tin  was  mainly  derived  from  Cornwall,  and,  con- 
sequently, that  even  at  this  early  period  a  considerable  com- 
merce had  been  organized,  and  very  distant  countries  brought 
into  connexion  with  one  another.  Sir  C.  Lewis,  however, 
considers  that  the  tin  was  "  carried  across  Gaul  to  Massilia, 
and  imported  thence  into  Greece  and  Italy."  Doubtless, 
much  of  it  did  in  late  times  come  by  this  route,  but  the 
Phoenicians  were  in  the  plenitude  of  their  power  1200 
years  B.C.,  while  Massilia  was  not  built  until  600  B.C.  More- 
over, Strabo  expressly  says  that  in  early  times  the  Phoenicians 
carried  on  the  tin  trade  from  Cadiz,  which  we  must  remember 
was  nearer  to  Cornwall  than  to  Tyre  or  Sidon. 

We  are,  therefore,  surely  quite  justified  in  concluding  that 
between  B.C.  1500  and  b.c.  1200,  the  Phoenicians  were  already 
*  The  Cassiterides,  p.  45. 


SUPPOSED   TRACES    OP   PH(ENICIAN   COMMERCE.  71 

acquainted  with  the  mineral  fields  of  Spain  and  Britain ;  and, 
under  these  circumstances,  it  is,  I  think,  more  than  probable 
that  they  pushed  their  explorations  still  farther,  in  search  of 
other  shores  as  rich  in  mineral  wealth  as  ours.  Indeed,  we 
must  remember  that  amber,  so  much  valued  in  ancient  times, 
could  not  have  been  obtained  from  any  nearer  source  than 
the  coast  of  the  German  Ocean. 

M.  Morlot  thinks  that  he  has  found  traces  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians even  in  America,  while  Professor  Nilsson  has  attempted, 
as  already  mentioned,  to  show  that  they  had  settlements  far 
up  on  the  northern  shores  of  Norway.  M.  Morlot  relies  on 
some  antiquities,  and  particularly  on  certain  glass  beads, 
found  in  American  tumuli ;  these,  however,  in  the  opinion  of 
Mr.  Franks,  may  be  mediaeval,  and  of  Venetian  origin.  Pro- 
fessor Nilsson's  arguments  may  be  reduced  to  seven,  namely, 
the  small  size  of  the  sword-handles,  bracelets,  etc. ;  the 
character  of  the  ornaments  on  the  bronze  implements;  the 
engravings  in  Bronze  Age  tumuli ;  the  worship  of  Baal ; 
certain  peculiar  methods  of  reaping  and  fishing ;  and  the 
use  of  war-chariots. 

The  implements  and  ornaments  of  bronze  certainly  appear 
to  have  belonged  to  a  race  with  smaller  hands  than  those  of 
the  present  European  nations ;  the  ornaments  on  them  are 
also  peculiar,  and  have,  in  Professor  Nilsson's  opinion,  a  sym- 
bolic meaning.  Although  the  great  stones  in  tumuli  attributed 
to  the  Bronze  Age  are  very  seldom  ornamented,  or  even  hewn 
into  shape,  still  there  are  some  few  exceptions ;  one  of  these 
being  the  remarkable  monument  near  Kivik  in  Chi'istianstad. 
From  the  general  character  of  the  engravings  Professor 
Nilsson  has  no  hesitation  in  referring  this  tumulus  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  and  on  two  of  the  stones  are  representations  of 
human  figures,  which  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  a  Phoenician, 
or  Egyptian  appearance. 

On  another  of  the  stones  an  obelisk  is  represented,  which 


72  TRACES    OF    BAAL   WORSHIP    IN    NORTHERN    EUROPE. 

Professor  Nilsson  regards  as  symbolical  of  the  Sun-God;  and 
it  is  certainly  remarkable  tliat,  in  an  ancient  ruin  in  Malta  *, 
characterized  by  other  decorations  of  the  Bronze  Age  types, 
a  somewhat  similar  obelisk  was  discovered ;  we  know  also, 
that  in  many  countries  Baal,  the  God  of  the  Phoenicians,  was 
worshipped  under  the  form  of  a  conical  stone. 

Nor  is  this,  by  any  means,  the  only  case  in  which  Professor 
Nilsson  finds  traces  of  Baal  worship  in  Scandinavia,  Indeed, 
the  festival  of  Baal,  or  Balder,  was,  he  tells  us,  celebrated  on 
Midsummer's  night  in  Scania,  and  far  up  into  Norway, 
almost  to  the  Lofibden  Islands,  until  within  the  last  fifty 
years.  A  wood  fire  was  made  upon  a  hill  or  mountain,  and 
the  people  of  the  neighbourhood  gathered  together  in  order, 
like  Baal's  prophets  of  old,  to  dance  round  it,  shouting  and 
singing.  This  Midsummer's-night  fire  has  even  retained  in 
some  parts  the  ancient  name  of  "  Baldersbal,"  or  Balders- 
fire.  Leopold  von  Buch  long  ago  suggested,  that  this  custom 
could  not  have  originated  in  a  country  where  at  Midsummer 
the  sun  is  never  lost  sight  of,  and  where,  consequently,  the 
smoke  only,  not  the  fire,  is  visible.  A  similar  custom  also 
prevailed  until  lately  in  some  parts  of  our  islands.  Baal  has 
given  his  name  to  many  Scandinavian  localities,  as,  for  in- 
stance, the  Baltic,  the  Great  and  Little  Belt,  Belteberga, 
Baleshaugen,  Balestranden,  etc. 

The  ornamentation  characteristic  of  the  Bronze  Age,  is,  in 
the  opinion  of  Professor  Nilsson,  decidedly  Semitic  rather  than 
Indo-European.  He  lays  considerable  stress  on  two  curious 
vase-carriages,  one  found  in  Sweden  and  the  other  in  Meck- 
lenburg, which  certainly  appear  to  have  been  very  like  the 
"  vases "  made  for  Solomon's  temple,  and  described  in  the 
first  Book  of  Kings.     Finally,  he  believes  that  the  use  of  war 

*  For  an  account  of  the  ruins  of  p.  407,  or  Dr.  Adams'  ArcliEeol.  and 
Hagiar  Kem,  see  Furse.  Trans.  Int.  Nat.  Hist,  of  the  Nile  Valley,  and  the 
Congress  of  Pre-hist.  Archaaol.  1868,       Maltese  Islands. 


OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    PH(ENICIAN    THEORY.  73 

chariots,  the  practice  of  reaping  close  to  the  car,  and  a 
certain  method  of  fishing,  are  all  evidences  of  Phoenician 
intercourse. 

Professor  Nilsson  is  so  great  an  authority,  as  an  archaeo- 
logist his  labours  have  contributed  so  much  to  place  the 
science  on.  a  sound  basis,  that  his  opinions  are  deserving  of 
the  most  careful  consideration.  Nor  can  they  fairly  be  judged 
by  the  very  short  abstract  which  has  been  given  above,  as 
many  of  his  arguments  must  be  followecl  in  detail  before 
they  can  be  properly  appreciated.  That  the  Phoenicians 
have  left  their  traces  in  Norway  is,  however,  in  my  opinion, 
all  that  can  fairly  be  deduced  from  the  facts  on  which  he 
relies,  even  if  we  attribute  to  them  all  the  significance  claimed 
for  them  by  him.  Further  evidence  is  required  before  it 
would  be  safe  to  connect  them  with  the  Bronze  Age.  As 
regards  the  smallness  of  the  hands,  we  must  remember  that 
Hindoos  share  this  peculiarity  with  Egyptians ;  this  character 
is  therefore  not  less  reconcilable  with  an  Indo-European  than 
with  a  Phoenician  origin  of  the  Bronze  Age  civilization. 

There  are  three  strong  objections  to  the  theory  so  ably 
advocated  by  Professor  Nilsson.  The  first  is  the  character  of 
the  ornamentation  on  the  bronze  weapons  and  implements. 
This  almost  always  consists  of  geometrical  figui'es,  and  we 
rarely,  if  ever,  find  upon  them  representations  of  animals  or 
plants  ;  while  on  the  ornamented  shields,  etc.,  described  by 
Homer,  as  well  as  in  the  decoration  of  Solomon's  temple, 
animals  and  plants  were  abundantly  represented.  Secondly, 
the  burial  customs  of  the  Phoenicians  differed  altogether  from 
those  of  the  Bronze  Age,  and  although  it  maybe  said  that  those 
who  attribute  the  presence  of  bronze  in  Northern  and  Western 
Europe  to  Phoenician  commerce,  do  not  necessarily,  on  that 
account,  assume  that  the  population  of  those  countries  became 
Phoenician,  still  in  this  case  the  hypothesis  explains  the 
presence  of  bronze  but  not  the  Bronze  Age,  of  which  the  use 


74  OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    PHOENICIAN    THEORY. 

of  broDze,  though  the  most  striking,  is  by  no  means  the  only 
characteristic.  Thirdly,  the  Phosnicians,  so  far  as  we  know 
them,  were  well  acquainted  Avith  the  use  of  iron ;  in  Homer 
we  find  the  warriors  already  armed  with  iron  weapons,  and 
the  tools  used  in  preparing  the  materials  for  Solomon's  temple 
were  of  this  metal.  It  is  very  remarkable  that  scarcely  any 
traces  of  ancient  commerce  have  been  found  in  Cornwall,  and 
it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  our  museums  possess  so  lew 
specimens  of  Phoenician  art.  When  these  wants  shall  have 
been  supplied,  as  we  may  hope  that  ere  long  they  will  be, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  much  light  will  be  thrown  on  the 
subject. 

The  form  of  the  head  also  would  be  very  instructive; 
but  owing  to  the  habit  of  burning  the  dead  which  pre- 
vailed at  that  period,  we  have,  as  yet,  very  few  skulls 
which  can  safely  be  referred  to  thfe  Bronze  Age.  On  the 
whole,  then,  though  there  is,  I  think,  ample  evidence  to 
prove  that  the  general  use  of  bronze  weapons  and  imple- 
ments characterizes  a  well-marked  epoch  in  history,  it  must 
also  be  admitted  that  we  have  still  very  much  to  learn  in 
regard  to  this  interesting  phase  in.  the  development  of 
European  civilization,  and  the  race  by  whom  the  knowledge 
of  metals  was  introduced  into  our  Continent. 


I 


10 


Mf^T^' 


t/>  thee  pf*(jlf  75 


75 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    USE    OF    STONE    IN   ANCIENT    TIMES. 

THE  preceding  chapters  have  been  devoted  to  the  Age 
of  Bronze.  We  must  now  pass  on  to  still  earlier  times 
and  ruder  races  of  men;  to  a  period  which^  for  obvious 
reasons,  is  called  by  archaeologists  the  Stone  Age. 

The  Stone  Age,  however,  falls  naturally,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  into  two  gi'cat  divisions. 

First.  That  of  the  Drift,  which  I  have  proposed  to  call  the 
Palaeolithic  or  Archaeolithic  period. 

Secondly.  The  later  Stone  Age,  for  which  I  have  sug- 
gested the  term  Neolithic,  and  in  which  the  stone  implements 
are  more  skilfully  made,  more  varied  in  form,  and  often 
polished.  We  will  noAV  consider  this  later  period,  reserving 
the  earlier  for  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  immense  number  of  stone  implements  which  occur,  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  important 
part  they  played  in  ancient  times.  M.  Herbst  has  favoured 
me  with  the  following  Hst  of  the  numbers  contained  in  the 
Copenhagen  Museum  : — 

Flint  axes  and  wedges 1070 

Broad  chisels 285 

Hollow  ditto 270 

Narrow  chisels      . 365 

Hollow  ditto         33 

Poniards 250 

Lance-heads 656 


76  THE    GREAT   ABUNDANCE    OP   STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 

Arrow-heads 171 

Half-moon  shaped  implements     .     .     .  205 

Pierced  axes  and  axe-hammers    .     .     .  7 IG 

Flint  flakes 300 

Sundries 489 

4840 
Rough    stone     implements    from    the 

Kjokkenmoddings 3678 

Bone  implements 171 

Ditto  from  Kjokkenmoddings.     ...       109 


8798 
These  figures  refer  to  the  year  1 864,  and  if  duplicates  and 
broken  specimens  were  counted,  he  thinks  that  the  number 
would  have  been  between  11,000  and  12,000.  He  has  also 
had  the  kindness  to  estimate  for  me  the  numbers  in  private 
and  provincial  museums,  and,  on  the  whole,  he  believes  we 
shall  be  within  the  mark  if  we  consider  that  the  Danish 
Museums  contained  30,000  stone  implements,  to  which, 
moreover,  must  be  added  the  rich  stores  then  at  Flensborg 
and  Kiel,  as  well  as  the  very  numerous  specimens  with  which 
the  liberality  of  the  Danish  arch  geologists  has  enriched  other 
countries,  for  there  is  scarcely  any  important  collection  in 
Europe  which  does  not  possess  some  illustrations  of  the 
Danish  stone  implements. 

The  museum  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  includes  nearly 
700  flint  flakes,  512  celts,  more  than  400  arrow-heads,  and 
50  spcar-hcads,  besides  75  "  scrapers,"  and  numerous  other 
objects  of  stone,  such  as  slingstones,  hammers,  whetstones, 
querns,  grain-crushers,  etc.  Again,  the  museum  at  Stockholm 
is  estimated  to  contain  between  15,000  and  16,000  specimens. 
Yet  the  very  existence  of  a  Stone  Age  is,  or  has  lately 
been,  denied  by  some  eminent  archaeologists.     Thus   Mr. 


STONE    IMPLEMENTS    USED    AFTEE    DISCOVERY    OF    METAL.       77 

Wright,  the  learned  Secretary  of  the  Ethnological  Society, 
while  admitting  that  "  there  may  have  been  a  period  when 
society  was  in  so  barbarous  a  state  that  sticks  or  stones  were 
the  only  implements  with  which  men  knew  how  to  -furnish 
themselves/^  doubts  "  if  the  antiquary  has  yet  found  any 
evidence  of  such  a  period."  And  though  the  above  figures 
are  sufficient  to  prove  that  stone  was  at  one  time  used  for 
many  implements  which  we  now  make  of  metal,  this  is  not 
in  itself  a  conclusive  answer  to  Mr.  Wright,  nor  in  fact  would 
it  be  denied  by  that  gentleman.  Moreover,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  in  early  ages  stone  and  metal  were  used  at  the  same 
time,  the  former  by  the  poor,  the  latter  by  the  rich. 

If  we  consider  the  difficulties  of  mining  in  early  days,  the 
rude  implements  with  which  men  had  then  to  work,  their 
ignorance  of  the  many  ingenious  methods  by  which  the 
operations  of  modern  miners  are  so  much  facilitated,  and, 
finally,  the  difficulties  of  carriage  either  by  land  or  water,  it 
is  easy  to  see  that  bronze  implements  must  always  have  been 
very  expensive. 

In  addition,  moreover,  to  the  a  ])riori  probability,  there  is 
plenty  of  direct  evidence  that  bronze  and  stone  were  in  use 
at  the  same  time.  Thus  Mr.  Bateman  records  thirty-seven 
instances  of  tumuli  which  contained  objects  of  bronze,  and 
in  no  less  than  twenty-nine  of  these  stone  implements  also 
were  found.  At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America,  the 
Mexicans,  though  well  acquainted  with  the  use  of  bronze, 
still  used  flakes  of  obsidian  for  knives  and  razors,  and  even 
after  the  introduction  of  iron,  stone  was  still  used  for  various 
purposes. 

Still,  however,  there  appears  to  be  enough  evidence  to 
justify  us  in  believing,  not  only  that  there  was  a  period 
"  when  society  was  in  so  barbarous  a  state  that  sticks  or 
stones  "  (to  which  we  must  add  horns  and  bones)  "  were  the 
only  implements  with  which  men  knew  how  to  furnish  them- 


78  MATERIALS    PREFERRED    FOR    STONE    IMPLEMENTS. 

selves/'  but  also  that  the  antiquary  has  found  clear  '^evidence 
of  such  a  period."  Part,  at  least,  of  this  evidence  ■will  be 
found  in  the  following  pages ;  and  though  it  is  true  that 
much  of  it  has  been  obtained  since  our  accomplished  coun- 
tryman published  the  work  from  which  I  have  just  quoted, 
yet  he  has  repeated  his  previous  statements  in  a  lecture 
subsequently  delivered  at  Leeds. 

Our  knowledge  of  this  ancient  pcrioa  is  derived  principally 
from  four  sources,  to  the  consideration  of  which  I  propose  to 
devote  four  separate  chapters  :  namely,  the  tumuli,  or  ancient 
burial-mounds;  the  Lake  habitations  of  Switzerland;  the 
Kjokkenmoddings,  or  shell-mounds,  of  Denmark;  and  the 
Bone-caves.  There  are,  indeed,  many  other  remains  of  great 
interest,  such,  for  example,  as  the  ancient  fortifications,  the 
"  castles  "  and  "  camps  ''  which  crown  so  many  of  our  hill- 
tops, and  the  great  lines  of  embankment,  such  as  Oflfa's 
dyke  and  the  Wans -dyke,  which  cross  so  many  of  our 
uplands ;  there  are  the  so-called  Druidical  circles  and  the 
vestiges  of  ancient  habitations ;  the  "  Hut-circles,''  "  Clog- 
hauns,"  "  Weems,"  "  Penpits,"  "  Picts'  houses,"  etc.  The 
majority  of  these  belong,  however,  in  all  probability,  to  a  later 
period ;  and  at  any  rate,  in  the  present  state  of  our  know- 
ledge, we  cannot  say  which,  or  how  many  of  them,  are 
referable  to  the  Stone  Age. 

As  far  as  the  material  is  concerned,  every  kind  of  stone, 
which  was  hard  and  tough  enough  for  the  purpose,  was  used 
during  the  Stone  Age  in  the  manufacture  of  implements. 
The  magnificent  collection  of  celts  at  Dublin  has  been  specially 
studied,  from  a  mineralogical  point  of  view,  by  the  Rev.  S. 
Haughton,  and  the  results  are  thus  recorded  by  Wilde  *  : — 

"  Of  the  better  qualities  of  rock  suited  for  celt-making, 
the  type  of  the  felspathic  extreme  of  the  series  of  trap  rocks 
is  the  pure  felstone,  or  petrosilex,    .    .    .    .  of  a  pale  blueish 

*  Catalogue  of  tlie  Roya\  Irish  Academy,  p.  72. 


JADE.  79 

or  grayisli  green,  except  where  the  surface  has  been  acted 
upon,  and  the  average  composition  of  which  is  25  parts 
quartz  and  75  felspar.  Its  physical  characters  are  absence 
of  toughness,   and  the  existence  of  a  spUntery  conchoidal 

fracture  almost  as  sharp  as  that  of  flint At  the 

hornbleudic  extreme  of  the  trap  rocks  we  find  the  basalt,  of 
which  also  celts  were  made ;  tough  and  heavy,  the  siliceous 
varieties  having  a  splintery  fracture,  but  never  affording  so 

cutting  an  edge  as  the  former Intermediate  in 

character  between  these  two  rocks,  we  find  all  the  varieties  of 
felstone,  slate,  and  porphyry  streaked  with  hornblende,  from 
which  the  great  majority  of  the  foregoing  implements  have 
been  made.'^ 

It  is  very  remarkable  how  carefully  the  best  kinds  of  stone 
were  selected  even  when  very  rare.  Of  this  the  most  interest- 
ing example  is  afibrded  by  the  axes,  etc.,  of  Jade.  These, 
though  far  from  common,  are  not  very  rare,  having  been 
found  in  many  of  the  Swiss  lake -villages,  in  various  parts  of 
Italy,  France,  Germany,  and  England,  although  Jade  itself  is 
not  known  to  occur  in  any  part  of  Europe.  It  was  supposed 
by  some  archseologists  that  it  might  have  been  obtained 
from  the  conglomerate  known  in  Switzerland  as  the  "  Nagel- 
flue/'  but  the  most  careful  investigations  have  not  confirmed 
this  view*.  I  do  not  think  it  would  yet  be  safe  to  conclude 
that  these  Jade  axes  were  introduced  from  the  East;  but  no 
European  locality  for  Jade  has  yet  been  discovered,  and  it  is 
perfectly  possible  that  they  may  have  passed  from  hand  to 
hand,  and  from  tribe  to  tribe,  by  a  sort  of  barter.  Other 
facts  of  a  similar  nature  are  on  record.  Thus  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis  tell  us  that  in  the  tumuli  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
we  find  "side  by  side,  in  the  same  mounds,  native  copper 

*  See  Damour,  Comptes  Rendnes,       Fischer,    Archiv.   f.   Anthropologic, 
1865,  p.  359.      Fcllcnberg.  See.  des       1867,  p.  337. 
Sciences  Naturelles  de  Berne,  1865. 


80  FLINT. 

from  Lake  Superior^  mica  from  tlie  AllcglianieP,  shells  from 
the  Gulf,  and  obsidian  (perhaps  porphyry)  from  Mexico." 
Good  representations  of  the  sea-cow  or  manatee  are  found  a 
thousand  miles  from  the  shores  inhabited  by  that  animal,  and 
shells  of  the  large  tropical  Pyrula'pervcrsa  are  found  in  the 
tumuli  rouud  the  great  lakes,  two  thousand  miles  from  home. 
On  the  whole,  however,  flint  appears  to  have  been  the 
stone  most  frequently  used  in  Europe,  audit  has  had  a  much 
more  important  influence  on  our  civilization  than  is  generally 
supposed.  Savages  value  it  on  account  of  its  hardness  and 
mode  of  fracture,  which  is  such  that,  with  practice,  a  good 
sound  block  can  be  chipped  into  almost  any  form  that  may 
be  required. 

In  many  cases  blocks  and  pebbles  of  flint,  picked  up  on 
the  .surface  of  the  ground,  were  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
implements  ;  but  in  other  cases  much  labour  was  spent  to 
obtain  flint  of  good  quality.  A  good  illustration  of  this  is 
aS'orded  by  the  so-called  Grime's  Graves,  near  Brandon, 
one  of  which  has  recently,  by  the  kind  permission  of  Mr. 
Angerstein,  been  explored  by  Mr.  Greenwell*.  Much  dif- 
ference of  opinion  has  existed  among  archgeologists  as  to  the 
true  nature  of  the  graves,  but  the  question  has  now  been  set 
at  rest  by  Mr.  Greenwell,  who  has  shown  that  they  were 
excavations  made  in  the  chalk  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
flint.  They  are  shallow  pits,  254  in  number,  varying  in 
diameter  from  20  to  60  feet,  placed  irregularly,  generally 
about  25  feet  apart,  and  occupying  rather  more  than  20 
acres.  Althou^^h  now  comparatively  shallow,  Mr.  Greenwell 
has  proved  that  the  pits  originally  went  down  to  a  depth  of 
39  feet,  when  they  branch,  out  into  passages,  often  commu- 
nicating with  one  another.  On  the  east  side  of  the  pits  is  a 
mound,  apparently  consisting  of  the  chalk  taken  from  the 
first  pit ;  after  which  it  appears  that  when  a  new  pit  was  dug, 
»  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1870,  p.  419. 


ANCIENT  WORKINGS   FOR   FLINT.  81 

most  of  the  material  was  thrown  down  the  old  shafts,  which 
were  thus  filled  in  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface.  As 
usual  in  the  Upper  Chalk,  the  flint  is  disposed  in  layers, 
which  differ  in  quality,  while  maintaining  the  same  character 
over  considerable  areas.  It  may  be  remarked  that,  as  Mr. 
Flower  has  well  pointed  out*,  Brandon,  "  though  situated  in 
a  bleak  and  barren  district,  has  evidently  been  a  place  of 
considerable  resort  from  a  very  remote  period — a  circum- 
stance which  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  abundance  and 
good  quality  of  the  flint  found  there.''  PalaDolithic  imple- 
ments abound  in  the  drift  gravels,  the  surface  is  strewn  with 
flint  flakes  and  fragments  of  flint  implements,  and  at  the 
present  time  it  is  the  only  place  in  England  where  gun-flints 
are  still  made.  For  this  purpose  one  particular  layer  of  flint  is 
found  to  be  peculiarly  well  adapted,  on  account  of  its  hard- 
ness and  fineness  of  grain,  while  another  layer,  which  is  less 
suitable  for  guu-flints,  is  known  as  ''  wall  stone,"  being  much 
used  for  building  purposes.  Now  it  is  interesting  to  find 
that,  even  in  very  early  times,  the  merits  of  the  gun-flint 
layer  were  well  known  and  appreciated ;  for  although  there 
is  abundance  of  flint  on  the  surface,  the  ancient  flint-men 
sank  their  shafts  down  past  the  layer  of  "wall  stone,"  w^ich 
occurs  at  a  depth  of  19^  feet,  to  the  gun-flint  layer,  which  at 
the  spot  in  question  is  39  feet  deep,  although  about  a  mile  to 
the  S.W.,  where  it  is  now  worked,  it  is  much  nearer  the 
surface. 

At  present  the  workmen  excavate  the  chalk  both  above 
and  below  the  layer  of  flint ;  but  in  the  old  galleries,  perhaps 
from  the  greater  difficulty  of  raising  the  material,  the  chalk 
below  the  flint  bed  was  in  no  case  removed.  The  implements 
used  in  making  these  excavations  were  deer's  horns,  the  brow 
tine  being  used  as  a  pick,  and  the  others  removed.  Thus 
treated,  a  deer's  horn  closely  resembles  in  form  a  modern 
»  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1870,  p.  437. 


82  grimes'  graves  spiennes. 

pick,  but  of  course  it  is  subject  to  rapid  wear  by  use,  which 
accounts  for  the  large  numbers  of  worn-out  implements  found 
by  Mr.  Greenwell  among  the  rubbish. 

In  one  case  the  roof  of  a  passage  had  given  way.  On 
removing  the  chalk  which  had  fallen  in,  the  end  of  the  gallery 
came  in  view.  The  flint  had  been  hollowed  out  in  three  places, 
and  in  front  of  two  of  these  recesses,  pointing  towards  the 
half-excavated  stone,  were  two  deer-horn  picks,  lying  just 
as  they  had  been  left,  still  coated  with  chalk  dust,  on  which 
was  in  one  place  plainly  visible  the  print  of  the  workman's 
hand.  They  had  evidently  been  left  at  the  close  of  a  day's 
work;  during  the  night  the  gallery  had  fallen  in,  and  they 
had  never  been  recovered. 

''It  was  a  most  impressive  sight,"  says  Mr.  Greenwell, 
''  and  one  never  to  be  forgotten,  to  look,  after  a  lapse,  it  may 
be,  of  3000  years,  upon  a  piece  of  work  unfinished,  with  the 
tools  of  the  workmen  still  lying  where  they  had  been  placed 
so  many  centuries  ago." 

Similar  deer-horn  picks  have  been  found  in  other  localities 
where  chalk  has  been  worked  for  flint,  and  also  in  the  Cornish 
Tin  Stream  Works*.  Near  Spiennes  also,  in  Belgium,  there 
are  extensive  workings  for  flint,  consisting  of  a  system  of 
shafts  and  galleries,  very  like  those  of  Grimes'  Graves,  which 
have  been  described  by  MM.  Briart,  Cornet,  and  Houzeau 
de  Lehaief,  many  tools  of  deer's  horns  have  been  obtained, 
but  they  are  of  a  very  dififerent  character,  having  been  appa- 
rently used  as  hammers,  the  horn  being  cut  off  just  above 
the  brow  tine,  which  served  as  a  handle. 

In  addition  to  the  deer-horn  picks,  a  few  adze-shaped 
tools  of  flint  have  been  discovered  in  Grimes'  Graves,  and  a 
basalt  hatchet,  in  form  resembling  that  represented  in  fig.  97, 
but  with  an  oblique  cutting  edge,  the  marks  of  which  were 

*  See,  for  instance,  Rep.  of  the  +  Mem.  de  la  Soc  des  Sciences, 

Eoy.  Inst,  of  Cornwall,  1871,  p.  xxii.       des  Arts,  &,  du  Hainaut,  1866-7. 


PRESSIGNY.  83 

distinctly  seen  upon  the  sides  of  the  gallery,  showing  that  it 
had  been  used  in  excavating  the  chalk. 

As  ah'eady  mentiouedj  it  was  very  desirable  in  the  manu- 
facture of  flint  implements,  to  have  the  flint  of  a  good 
quality,  free  from  cracks  and  flaws,  and  easily  accessible. 
Hence,  places  which  fulfilled  these  conditions  were  specially 
frequented  in  ancient  times,  and  whole  districts  were  sup- 
plied from  these  favoured  localities.  One  of  the  most  re- 
markable of  these  manufactories  is  that  discovered  by  Dr. 
Leveille  at  Pressigny-le-Grand,  in  France,  about  half-way 
between  Tours  and  Poitiers.  Here  there  is  an  abundance 
of  good  flint  of  a  honey  colour,  and  even,  though  coarse, 
tcxtui'C.  This  flint  was  largely  used  in  ancient  times :  the 
fields  are  covered  with  nuclei,  flakes,  etc.,  and  implements 
made  here,  and  easily  recognizable  by  the  pecuhar  colour, 
have  been  found  in  various  parts  of  France,  and  even, 
it  would  seem,  in  Belgium.  I  have  in  my  collection  a 
block  of  Pressigny  flint,  from  which  a  flake  more  than 
twelve  inches  in  length  has  been  struck.  The  large  nuclei 
of  this  form,  which  from  their  shape  are  known  as  "  livres 
de  beurre,"  have  excited  a  good  deal  of  discussion.  They 
are  generally  from  eight  to  thirteen  inches  in  length,  shaped 
more  or  less  like  a  boat,  with  a  broad  butt  at  one  end, 
tapering  gradually  to  the  other.  The  form  has  been  at- 
tained by  a  succession  of  lateral  chips,  at  right  angles  to  the 
longer  axis,  while  generally  one  or  more  longitudinal  flakes 
have  also  been  removed. 

At  first  sight  they  certainly  suggest  the  idea  that  they  are 
early  stages  in  the  manufacture  of  large  axes,  or  some  similar 
instruments,  and  from  their  form  it  has  even  been  suggested 
that  they  may  have  been  intended  to  serve  as  ploughshares. 
On  the  comparison  of  a  large  number,  however — and  I  have 
had  the  opportunity  of  examining  many  hundreds — it  will  be 
observed  that  we  never  meet  with   specimens  in  a  more 


84  THE    FKACTURE   OF    FLIXT. 

a<3vanced  state  of  manufacture,  as  would  certainly  liave  been 
the  case  if  this  hypothesis  were  correct.  Again,  some  of  thera 
have  an  original  depression  in  the  flint,  very  much  reducing 
the  thickness.  This  would  weaken  them  so  greatly  as  to 
render  such  specimens  useless  for  implements ;  flints  of  such 
a  form  would  certainly,  therefore,  not  have  been  selected,  if 
strength  had  been  any  object.  On  the  other  hand,  such 
irregularities  would  have  been  no  disadvantage,  if  the  "  livres 
de  beurre  "  were  nuclei  prepared  with  some  degree  of  care, 
in  order  to  give  long  and  regular  flakes.  Long  fliot  flakes 
were  much  in  demand  during  the  Stone  Age  for  the  manu- 
facture of  spear  heads,  etc.,  and  these  "  livres  de  beurre  " 
appear  to  have  been  the  blocks  or  nuclei  from  which  they 
were^  obtained. 

Many  of  the  flakes  were  certainly  never  intended  to  serve 
as  knives,  but  were  worked  up  into  saws,  awls,  or  arrow 
heads.  Many  savages  use  flint  or  chert,  in  this  manner, 
even  at  the  present  day;  and  the  Mexicans  in  the  time  of 
Cortez  used  precisely  similar  fragments  of  obsidian. 

The  operations  of  modern  gun-flint  makers  give  us  a  very 
clear  insight  into  the  mode  of  manufacture  of  the  ancient 
flint  implements,  and  the  process  is  one  of  considerable  in- 
terest. 

If  we  take  a  rounded  hammer,  and  strike  with  it  on  a  flat 
surface  of  flint,  a  conoidal  fracture  is  produced ;  the  size  of 
which  depends,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the  form  of  the  ham- 
mer. The  surface  of  fracture  is  propagated  downwards 
through  the  flint,  in  a  diverging  direction,  and  thus  embraces 
a  cone,  whose  apex  is  at  the  point  struck  by  the  hammer, 
and  which  can  afterwards  be  chipped  out  of  the  mass.  Flint 
cones,  formed  in  this  way,  may  sometimes  be  found  among 
heaps  of  stones  broken  up  to  mend  the  roads,  and  have  doubt- 
less often  been  mistaken  for  casts  of  fossil  shells. 

If  a  blow  is  given,  not  on  a  flat  surface,  but  at  the  angle 


FLINT    FLAKES. 


85 


Fig.  82. 


Fig.  83. 


Fig.  84. 


of  a  more  or  less  square  flint,  the  fracture  is  at  first  semi- 
conoidal  or  nearly  so,  but  after  expanding  for  a  short  distance, 
it  becomes  flat,  and  may  be  propagated  through  a  length  of 
as  much  as  thirteen  inches,  thus  forming  a  blade-like  flake 
(figs.  82-89),  with  a  triangular  cross  section  (fig.  90).  The 
consequence  is,  that  a 
perfect  flint  flake  will 
always  have  a  small 
bulb,  or  projection 
(fig.  83  a)  at  the  butt 
end,  on  the  flat  side  : 
this  has  been  called  th( 


Fig.  81. 


Flint  core  or  nucleus. 


M 


Flint  Flakes.— Denmark. 


bulb,  or  cone,  of  percussion.  After  the  four  original  angles 
of  a  square  block  have  been  thus  flaked  off",  the  eight  new 
angles  may  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  and  so  on.  Fig. 
81,  and  pi.  1,  fig.  6,  represent  blocks,  or  cores,  from  which 


86 


FUNT   FLAKES. 


flakes  have  been  struck  off.  A  flake  itself  is  represented  in 
pi.  1,  fig.  7,  and  a  very  long  one  from  Fannerup  in  Jutland 
is   figured,  one-half  of  the  natural  size,  in  figs.  82,  84.     The 


Arrow-shaped  Flint  Flake.— Ireland. 


bulb  is  shown  in  figs.  83  a  and  84,  and  the  flake  has  been 
worked  into  a  point  at  the  end.     The  largest  flake  I  am 


Fig. 


Flint  Flakes.— Denmark. 

acquainted  with  is  described  by  M.  de  Caneto,  in  the  Eevuo  ( 
de  Gascoyne,  for  1865.  It  was  found  in  the  commune  of 
PauilhaiCj  and  is  13^  inches  in  length.     Fig.  85  is  an  arrow- 


DIFFICULTY   OF   MAKING   FLINT   FLAKES.  87 

shaped  flake  chipped  away  at  the  base,  apparently  to  adapt 
it  to  a  handle  or  shaft. 

Figs.  86-89  are  small  Danish  flakes :  forms  exactly  simi- 
lar may  be  found  in  any  country  where  the  ancient  inhabi- 
tants could  obtain  flint  or  obsidian.  In  fig.  86  we  see  that 
another  flake  had  been  previously  taken  from  the  same  block. 
Figs.  86,  88,  represent  flakes  of  which  the  points  have  been 
broken  ofi",  but  we  see  along  their  whole  length  the  depres- 
sion caused  by  the  previous  removal  of  other  flakes.  The 
section  of  such  a  flake  is,  therefore,  not  triangular,  as  m  fig. 
98  a,  but  four-sided,  as  in  fig.  90  h.  Sometimes,  though  not 
often,  a  wide  flake  is  taken  off"  in  such  a  way  as  to  overlap 
two  previous  flakes,  as  in  the  case  of  the  one  represented  in 
fig.  89.  In  this  instance,  the  section  is  pentagonal ;  the  flat 
under-surface  remaining  always  the  same,  but  the  upper  side 
showing  four  facets. 

Easy  as  it  may  seem  to  make  such  flakes  as  these,  a  little 
practice  will  convince  any  one  who  attempts  to  do  so,  that  a 
certain  knack  is  required,  and  a  gun-flint  maker  at  Brandon 
told  me  that  it  took  liim  two  years  to  acquire  the  art.  It  is 
also  necessary  to  be  careful  in  the  selection  of  the  flint.  It 
is  therefore  evident  that  these  flint  flakes,  simple  as  they  may 
appear,  are  always  the  work  of  man.     To  make  one,  the  flint 

must  be  held  firmly, 
and  then  a  consider- 
able force  must  be 
applied,  either  by  pres- 
sure or  by  blows,  re- 
peated   three  or  four 

Sections  of  Fl.kes.  ^^^^^^      ^^^^      ^^     j^^^^ 

three,  and  given  in  certain  slightly  difi'erent  directions,  with 
a  certain  definite  force  ;  these  conditions  could  scarcely 
occur  by  accident,  so  that,  simple  as  it  may  seem  to  the  un- 
trained eye,  a  flint  flake  is  to  the  antiquary  as  sure  a  trace 


88 


MODERN    FLAKES. 


of  man,   as   the   footprint  in   the   sand   was   to   Eobinson 
Crusoe. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  flakes  have  a  sharp 
cutting  edge  on  each  side,  and  might  therefore  be  at  once 
used  as  knives,  as  in  fig.  91,  "which  represents  a  North 
American  two-bladed  knife :  they  are  indeed  so  named  by 


Fio.  91. 


North  American  Knife. 
Fig.  y2. 


Australians  making  flakes. 

some  archaeologists;  but  it  seems  to  me  more  convenient 
to  call  them  simply  flakes,  and  to  confine  the  name  of  knife 
to  implements  more  especially  intended  and  adapted  for 
cutting  purposes.  Fig.  92,  from  a  drawing  by  Mr.  Baines  *^ 
*  See  Geol.  and  Nat.  Hist.  Repertory,  No.  13,  May,  1866. 


MANUFACTURE    OP   FLAKES   IN    MEXICO. 


89 


represents  an  Australian  making  rude  flakes.  Fig.  93 
represents  an  Australian  flake,  and  fig.  91-,  one  from  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Figs.  95,  96,  represent  a  new  Cale- 
donian javelin,  with  an  obsidian  flake  (fig.  9(3)  for  a  head. 


Fig.  93. 


Fig.  9J. 


\ 


--*Vs6,g^ 


Australian  Flake.  Flake  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Some  of  the  old  Spanish  writers  in  Mexico  give  us  a 
description  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Aztecs  obtained  their 
obsidian  flakes.  Torquemada*,  who  is  confirmed  by  Her- 
nandez, tells  us — I  quote  from  Mr.  Taylor^s  Anahuac — "  they 
had,  and  still  have,  workmen  who  make  knives  of  a  certain 
block  stone  or  flint  (obsidian),  which  it  is  a  most  wonderful 

*  Torquemada,  Monarquia  Indiana.     Seville,  1615. 


90 


MANUFACTURE    OP   FLAKES   IN   MEXICO 


and  admirable  tiling  to  see  them  make  out 
of  the  stone  ;  and  the  ingenuity  which  in- 
vented this  art  is  much  to  be  praised.    They 
arc  made  and  got  out  of  the  stone  (if  one 
can  explain  it)  in  this  manner  :  one  of  these 
Indian    workmen    sits    down    upon    the 
ground,  and  takes  a   piece   of  this  black 
stone,  which  is  like  jet,  and  as  hard  as  flint 
— and  is  a   stone  which  might  be  called 
precious,  more  beautiful  and  brilliant  than 
alabaster  or  jasper,  so  much  so,  that  of  it 
are  made  tablets  and  mirrors.     The  piece 
they  take  is  about  eight   inches  long,  or 
rather  more,  and  as  thick  as  one's  leg,  or 
rather  less,  and  cylindrical ;   they  have  a 
stick  as  large  as  the  shaft  of  a  lance,  and 
three  cubits  or  rather  more  in  length,  and 
at  the  end  of  it  they  fasten  firmly  another 
piece  of  wood,  eight  inches  long,  to  give 
more  weight  to  this  part;  then  pressing 
their  naked  feet  together,  they  hold  the 
stone  as  with  a  pair  of  pincers,  or  the  vice 
of  a  carpenter's   bench.      They   take   the 
stick  (which  is  cut  off  smooth  at  the  end) 
with    both   hands,    and  set   it  well  home 
against  the  edge  of  the  front  of  the  stone 
{y  fonenlo  avesar  con  el  canto  do  la  frente 
de  la  piedra),  which  also  is  cut  smooth  in 
that  part ;  and  then  they  press  it  against 
their  breast,  and  with  the  force  of  the  pres- 
sure there  flies  off  a  knife,  with  its  point 
and  edge  on  one  side,  as  neatly  as  if  one 
were  to  make  them  of  a  turnip  with  a  sharp  knife,  or  of 
iron  in  the  fire.     Then  "they  sharpen  it  on  a  stone,  using  a 
bone  to  give  it  a  very  fine  edge ;  and  in  a  very  short  time 


New  Caledonian 
Javeliu. 


AND   AMONG   THE    ESQUIMAUX.  91 

these  -workmen  will  inake  more  tlian  twenty  knives  in  the 
aforesaid  manner.  They  come  out  in  the  same  shape  as  our 
barbers'  lancets,  except  that  they  have  a  rib  up  the  middle 
and  have  a  slight  graceful  curve  towards  the  point/' 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  obsidian  flakes  were  made^  not  by 
blows,  but  by  strong  pressure ;  and  the  same  is  the  case 
with  the  chert  implements  of  the  Esquimaux,  according  to 
the  description  given  by  Sir  E.  Belcher*.  "Selecting,"  he 
says,  "  a  log  of  wood  in  which  a  spoon-shaped  cavity  was  cut, 
they  placed  the  splinter  to  be  worked  over  it,  and  by  pressing 
gently  along  the  margin  vertically,  first  on  one  side,  then  the 
other,  as  one  would  set  a  saw,  they  splintered  off  alternate 
fragments,  until  the  object,  thus  properly  outlined,  presented 
the  spear  or  arrow-head  form,  with  two  cutting  serrated 
sides."  A  very  similar  account  is  also  given  by  Lieutenant 
Beck^-ith  of  the  method  used  by  the  North  American 
Indians  f. 

Next  to  flint  flakes,  the  axes,  wedges,  or  celts,  are,  perhaps, 

of  most  importance.     The  largest  and  finest  specimens  are 

found  in  Denmark ;  one  in  my  possession,  of  beautiful  white 

flint,  is  13in.  long,  l^in.  thick,  and  3|in.  in  breadth.     The 

Seeland  axes  have  very  often,  indeed  generally,  perpendicular 

sides ;  in  Jutland  a  large  proportion  have  sloping  sides  ;  this 

is  also  generally  the  case  in  other  parts  of  North-Western 

Europe.     In  Switzerland,  however,  the  axes,  which  are  much 

smaller  than  those  from  Denmark,  have  perpendicular  sides 

(fig.  164).     The  common  Danish  axe  or  wedge  is  figured  in 

pi.  1,  fig.  1.     Figs.  97  and  98  represent  forms  which,  though 

rare  in  Seeland,  are  common  in  other  parts  of  Europe.    Those 

foimd  in  Denmark  are  sometimes  polished,  but  almost,  if  not 

quite,  as  often  left  rough.     On  the  contrary,  in  other  parts 

of  North-Western  Europe,  the  axes  are  usually  ground  to  a 

*  Trans,  of  the  Ethnological   Soc.       Surveys  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  1855, 
New  Scries,  vol.  i.  p.  138.  vol.  ii.  p.  43. 

+  Report  of  the  Explorations   and 


92 


STONE   AXES. 


more  or  less  smooth  surface.  That  some  were  held  in  the 
hand  is  evident,  but  that  others  were  fixed  in  wooden  handles 
is  equally  clear,  in  many  specimens,  from  peculiar  polished 
spaces,  which  have  been  produced  by  the  friction  of  the 
wood.  In  almost  all  cases,  the  wooden  handle  has  long 
perished,  but  there  are  one  or  two  instances  on  record,  in 
which  it  has  been  preserved.  Fig.  99  represents  a  stone 
hatchet,  found,  some  years  ago,  in  the  County  of  Monaghan; 
the  handle  Avas  of  pine,  and  was  IGsin.  long. 

^'°"'-  Fig.  100  represents   another  stone 

axe  in  its  handle ;  this  specimen  was 
found  at  Concise,  on  the  .Lake  of 
Neufchatel,  and  closely  resembles  the 
modern  African  axe  (fig.  20).  In  the 
latter  case,  however,  the  blade  is  of 
iron.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
Swiss  specimen  differs  from  the  other 


Fig.  99. 


Fig.  98. 


Stone  Axes.— Ireland. 


Stone  Celt  in  handle. 


two  in  having  an  intermediate  piece  of  horn.  These  horn 
sockets  are  very  numerous  in  some  of  the  Swiss  lake  villages, 
as  for  instance  at  Concise,  while  in  others,  as  at  Wangen, 
though  axes  are  abundant,  none  have  yet  been  discovered. 


•i-Hi;    USE    OP    STONE   AXES.  93 

To  us,  accustomed  as  we  are  to  the  use  of  metals,  it  seems 
difficult  to  believe  that  such  things  were  ever  made  use  of ; 
we  know,  however,  that  many  savages  of  the  present  day 
have  no  better  tools.  Yet,  with  axes  such  as  these,  and 
generally  with  the  assistance  of  fire,  they  will  cut  down  large 
trees,  and  hollow  them  out  into  canoes.  The  piles  used  in 
the  Swiss  Stone  Age  lake  habitations  were  evidently,  from  the 
marks  of  the  cuts  on  them,  prepared  with  the  help  of  stone  axes; 
and  in  the  Danish  peat  bogs,  several  trees  have  been  found 
with  the  marks  of  stone  axes,  and  of  fire,  upon  them,  and  in  one 
or  two  cases  stone  celts  have  even  been  found  lying  at  the 
side.  In  the  excavations  known  as  Grimes'  Graves  again,  as 
already  mentioned  (ante,  p.  82),  a  basalt  hatchet  was  found, 
which  had  evidently  been  used  for  excavating  the  gallery,  as 
the  marks  were   still  distinctly  visible  on  the  walls. 

Fig.  100. 


Swiss  Stone  Axe. 

One  use  of  the  North  American  tomahawk  was  to  crush 
bones  for  the  sake  of  the  marrow  *,  and  it  is  most  probable 
that  the  ancient  stone  axes  also  served  the  same  purpose. 

In  many  cases  the  axes  themselves  bear  ample  marks  of 
long  continued  use.  For  instance,  the  specimen  represented 
in  figs.  101,  102  has  no  doubt  once  been  much  longer,  and 
with  surfaces  consisting  of  one  continuous  sweep,  as  in  pi.  1, 
fig.  1.  The  edge,  however,  having  been  destroyed  by  use, 
it  was  again  chipped  sharp  and  repolished,  the  new  surface 

*  James'  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountnins,  vol.  i.  p.  193. 


94 


THE    USE    OF   ANCIENT    STONE    AXES. 


meeting  the  old  one  at  a.  A  second  time  the  edge  has 
become  destroyed,  and  the  owner,  as  may  be  seen  in  fig.  102, 
has  commenced  the  formation  of  a  new  one. 


Fig.  101. 


Fici.  102. 


Danish  Axe. 


That  they  were  also  weapons  of  war  is  probable,  not  only 
on  a  priori  grounds,  but  also  because  they  have  frequently 
been  found  in  the  graves  of  chiefs,  associated  with  bronze 
daggers.  About  the  year  1809,  a  large  cairn  in  Kircud- 
brightshire,  popularly  supposed  to  be  the  tomb  of  a  King 
Aldus  M'^Galdus,  was  removed  by  a  farmer.  "  When  the 
cairn  had  been  removed,  the  workmen  came  to  a  stone  coffin 
of  very  rude  workmanship,  and  on  removing  the  lid,  they 
found  the  skeleton  of  a  man  of  uncommon  size.  The  bones 
were  in  such  a  state  of  decomposition,  that  the  ribs  and 
vertebras  crumbled  into  dust  on  attempting  to  lift  them. 
The  remaining  bones,  being  more  compact,  were  taken  out, 
when  it  was  discovered  that  one  of  the  arms  had  been  almost 
separated  from  the  shoulder  by  the  stroke  of  a  stone  axe. 


PIERCED    HATCHETS.  95 

and  that  a  fragment  of  the  axe  still  remained  in  the  bone. 
The  axe  had  been  of  greenstone,  a  material  which  does  not 
occur  in  this  part  of  Scotland.  There  were  also  found  with 
this  skeleton  a  ball  of  flint,  about  three  inches  in  diameter, 
which  was  perfectly  round  and  highly  polished,  and  the  head 
of  an  arrow,  also  flint,  but  not  a  particle  of  any  metallic 
substance  *." 

We  know  also  the  North  American  stone  axe  or  tomahawk 
served  not  merely  as  an  implement,  but  also  as  a  weapon, 
being  used  both  in  the  hand  and  also  as  a  missile  f. 

Another  class  of  stone  hatchets  are  those  which  are  pierced 
for  the  handle,  as  in  pi.  1,  fig.  2.  From  the  nature  of  flint, 
these  were  scarcely  ever  made  of  that  material.  There  are, 
however,  in  Copenhagen,  two  such  hatchets,  in  which  advan- 
tage has  been  ingeniously  taken  of  a  natural  hole  in  the  flint. 
In  many  kinds  of  hard  stone,  however,  it  is  quite  possible  to 
drill  a  hole  by  means  of  a  cylinder  of  bone  or  horn,  with  a 
little  sand  and  water;  yet  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  this 
class  of  implements  truly  belong  to  the  Stone  Age.  The 
pierced  axes  are  generally  found  in  graves  of  the  Bronze 
period,  and  it  is  most  probable  that  this  mode  of  attaching 
the  handle  was  used  very  rarely,  if  at  all,  until  the  discovery 
of  metal  had  rendered  the  process  far  more  easy  than  could 
have  been  the  case  previously. 

The  so-called  " scrapers ^^  (figs.  103, 104),  are  oblong  stones, 
rounded  at  one  end,  which  is  brought  to  a  bevelled  edge  by 
a  series  of  small  blows.  One  side  is  flat,  the  other,  or  outer, 
ono  is  more  or  less  convex ;  sometimes  they  have  a  short 
handle,  which  gives  them  very  much  the  appearance  of  a 
spoon.  They  have  been  found  in  England,  France,  Den- 
mark, Ireland,  Switzerland,  and  other  countries.     They  vary 

*  New  Statist.  Ace.  Kirkcudbrip^ht-       2nd  edit.  vol.  i.  p.  187. 
shire,  vol.    iv.   p.   332.       Quoted    by  t  Coldcn's    History   of  the   Five 

Wilson,   Pre-his.    Ann,  of  Scotland,       Nations,  vol.  i.  p.  10. 


96 


SCRAPERS. 


from  one  to  four  inches  in  length,  and  from  half  an  inch  to 
two  inches  in  breadth.  A  modern  Esquimaux  scraper  is 
represented  in  figs.  105-107.  These  modern  specimens  are 
in  form  identical  with  the  old  ones. 


Fig.  103. 


Fig.  104. 


1 


Scraper. 

To  the  small,  triangular  "axes^^  (figs.  108-110),  which  are 
very  characteristic  of  the  Kjokkenmoddings,  as  well  as  of 
the  Coastfinds,  I  have  applied  the  name  by  which  they  are 
usually  known,  but  without  wishing  to  prejudge  the  question 
as  to  their  purpose.  They  are  fiat  on  one  side,  and  more  or 
less  convex  on  the  other ;  rudely  triangular  or  quadrangular 
in  shape,  with  the  cutting  edge  at  the  broader  end ;  and  from 
2iin.  to  5^in.  in  length,  with  a  breadth  of  Hin.  to  2|in. 
They  are  never  ground,  and  the  cutting  edge,  though  not 
sharp,  is  very  strong,  as  it  is  formed  by  a  plane,  meeting  the 


SHELL-MOUND    AXES. 


97 


flat  side  at  a  very  obtuse  angle.  Professor  Steenstrup  doubts 
whether  these  curious  and  peculiar  implements  were  ever 
intended  for  axes,  and  regards  them  as  having  been,  in  all 
probability,  mere  weights  for  fishing  lines,  in  support  of 
which  view  he  figures  some  not,  perhaps,  very  dissimilar  stane 
objects,  used  for  that  purpose  by  the  Esquimaux.  The  so- 
called  edge,  in  his  opinion,  neither  has  nor  could  have  been 
used  for  cutting,  but  is  merely  the  result  of  that  form  which 
was  found  by  the  fishermen  to  be  most  convenient.  He 
also  calls  attention  to  the  polished  facets  on  their  surfaces. 


Fig.  105. 


Fig.  106. 


Fig.  107. 


Esquimaux  Sri  ii-  r 

which  he  regards  as  affording  strong  support  to  his  opinion. 
It  must  be  at  once  admitted  that  there  are  many  of  these 
"axes^'  which  could  never  have  been  used  for  cutting,  but 
these  may  be  regarded  as  imperfect,  and  are  certainly  not  to  be 
taken  as  normal  specimens.  It  is  true  that  the  two  surfaces, 
constituting  the  edge,  form  a  very  obtuse  angle  with  one 
another,  but  we  must  remember  that  if  this  detracts  from  the 
sharpness,  it  adds  greatly  to  the  strength.  Moreover,  the 
angle  is  almost  exactly  the  same  as  that  which  we  find  in  the 
adze  of  the  New  Zealanders^  and  other  South  Sea  Islanders. 
9 


98 


CHISELS. 


Figs.  111-113  represent  a  recent  adze,  brought  by  the  Rev. 
R.  Taylor  from  New  Zealand,  and  now  in  the  British  ^Museum, 
which  very  closely  resembles  the  typical  axes  of  the  Kjokken- 
moddings.  The  edge,  indeed,  is  polished,  but  is  after  all  not 
smoother  than  the  natural  fracture  of  the  flint.  The  projection 
on  the  underside  of  the  Danish  specimen  (fig.  110  a.)  is  acci- 
dental, and  due  to  some  peculiarity  in  the  flint.  This  surface 
is  usually  as  flat  in  the  Danish  specimens  as  in  those  from 
New  Zealand. 


Fib.  108. 


Fig.  109. 


Fig.  no. 


Danish  Axe. 


The  rhi<;els  (pi.  1,  fig.  5)  resemble  the  Danish  axes,  in  having 
perpendicular  sides,  but  they  are  narrower,  and  are  almost 
always  ground  to  a  smooth  surface.  Many  of  them  are 
slightly  hollowed  on  one  side,  as  in  fig.  114. 

The  flat,  semi-circular,  flint  instruments  represented  in  pi.  1, 
fig.  3  are  common  in  Denmark,  but  very  rarely,  if  ever,  found 
in  Great  Britain,  France,  or  Italy.  The  convex  edge  was 
evidently  fastened  into  a  handle  of  wood,  the  marks  of  which 


SEMILUNAR    IMPLEMENTS.       AWLS. 


99 


are  still,  in  many  cases,  plainly  visible.  The  other  edge, 
which  is  either  straight  or  concave,  is  generally  provided  with 
a  number  of  teeth,  giving  it  more  or  less  resemblance  to  a 
saw.  In  some  cases  it  is  so  much  worn  away  by  use,  that  the 
implement  takes  the  form  of  a  new  moon  or  of  a  boomerang. 
The  edge  is  in  many  cases  quite  polished,  evidently  by  con- 
tinuous friction  against  a  soft  substance.  I  say  a  soft  sub- 
stance, because  the  polished  part  overlaps  on  both  sides,  and 


Fig.  111. 


Fig.  nz. 


Fig.  1 1.1. 


Zealand  Adze 


passes  in  between  the  teeth  of  the  saw,  which  would  not  have 
been  otherwise  the  case.  It  is  probable  that  the  semi-lunar 
instruments  were  fixed  in  wooden  handles,  and  then  used  in 
cleaning  skins.  Similarly-shaped  instruments  are  even  now 
used  as  knives  by  the  Esquimaux  women,  under  the  name  of 
Ooloos.  It  might  be  convenient  to  apply  this  term  to  the 
ancient  Danish  specimens. 

The  so-called   "awls"  are  rude  pieces  of  flint,  or  flakes 
worked  up  at  one  place  by  a  number  of  small  chips  to  a 


100 


SPEARS.       DAGGERS.       SLINGSTONES. 


point   (fig.  172). 
strong. 


Fig.  114. 


Though  not  very  sharp,  they  are  pretty 

The  spear-heads  (fig.  115)  are  very 
variable  in  size  and  form;  some  of 
them  are  scarcely  distinguishable  from 
large  arrow-heads;  others  are  much 
larger.  Some  are  so  rude  that  it 
is  questionable  whether  they  were 
finished,  while  others  are  marvellous 
specimens  of  ancient  art.  One  in  my 
possession  is  12in.  in  length,  1^  in.  iu 
breadth,  and  of  wonderfully  beautiful 
workmanship.  It  is  one  of  six,  found 
together  inside  a  large  tumulus  in  the 
island  of  Mocfi. 

The  daggers  (pi.  1,  fig.  4,  and  fig. 
116)  are  often  marvels  of  skill  in  flint- 
chipping.  Their  form  so  closely  re- 
sembles that  of  metallic  daggers,  that 
some  antiquaries  are  inclined  to  regard 
them  as  copies  of  bronze  daggers,  and  therefore  as  not  be- 
longing to  the  Stone  Age.  The  localities  in  which  they  have 
been  found  do  not,  however,  offer  any  support  to  this  hy- 
pothesis. Another  form  of  flint  weapon  (fig.  117),  which 
is  common  in  Denmark,  has  a  handle  like,  that  of  the  last 
form,  but  instead  of  a  blade,  it  ends  in  a  point,  and  suggests 
the  idea,  that  if  the  tip  of  the  dagger  had  been  accidentally 
broken  off,  or  the  blade  rendered  narrow  by  wear  and  tear, 
the  rest  of  the  weapon  might  have  been  worked  up  into  a 
poniard,  and  thus  utilized.  In  both  these  classes  the 
crimping  along  the  edges  of  the  handle  is  very  curious. 

The  sUngstones  are  of  two  kinds.  The  first  are  merely 
rough  pieces  of  flint  (pi.  1,  fig.  12),  reduced  by  a  few  blows 
of  a  hammer  to  a  convenient  size  and  form.     But  for  the 


Hollow  Chisel. 


SLTNGSTONES. 


101 


situations  in  whicli  they  are  found,  these  might  almost  be 
regarded  as  natural  fragments.  Professor  Steeustrup  is  now 
disposed  to  think  that  many  of  them  were  used  as  sink- 


FiG.  116. 


Fig.  117. 


Fig.  115. 


fa 


^-f ./ 


i:^'- 


^ 


:a      :      ^^^ 


Dagger. 


Dagger. 


Dagger  (broTcen  at 
the  point). 


stones  for  nets,  but  that  some  have  really  gerved  as  sling- 
stones  seems  to  be  indicated  by  their  presence  in  the  Peat- 
mosses, which  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  in  any  other  way. 


102  SLINGSTONES.        ARROWHEADS. 

The  otlicr  kind  of  slingstones  are  round,  flattisb  fliut  disks, 
some  of  wliicli  are  beautifully  made. 

The  oval  tool-stones  (fig.  118),  or  "  Tilhuggerstoens  "of  the 
northern  antiquaries,  are  oval  or  egg-shaped  stones,  more 
or  less  indented  on  one  or  both  surfaces.  Their  use  is  not  at 
present  thoroughly  understood.  Some  antiquaries  suppose 
that  they  were  held  between  the  finger  and  thumb,  and  used 
as  hammers  or  chippers.  If,  however,  a  large  series  is 
obtained,  it  will  be  found  that  the  depression  varies  greatly 
^^°^'s-  in  depth,  and  that  sometimes  the  stone  is 

completely  perforated,  which  favours  the  view 
of  those  who   regard  these   implements  as 
ringstones  for  nets,  or  small  hammer  heads. 
Oval  Tool-stone.      It  is  vcry  doubtful   whether    these   imple- 
ments really  belong  to  the  Stone  Age. 

Other  stones,  in  which  the  longer  axis  is  encircled  by  a 
groove,  appear  to  have*been  evidently  intended  as  sink- 
stones  for  nets. 

The  qrroiv-heads  are  divided  by  Sir  W.  R.  Wilde  into  five 
varieties.  Firstly,  the  triangular  (fig.  119),  which  frequently 
had  a  notch  on  each  side  to  receive  the  string  which  attached 
it  to  the  shaft;  secondly,  that  which  is  hollowed  out  or 
indented  at  the  base,  as  in  fig.  120 ;  thirdly,  the  stemmed 
arrow,  which  has  a  tang  or  projection  for  sinking  into  the 
shaft ;  fourthly,  when  the  wings  are  prolonged  on  each  side, 
this  passes  into  the  larhed  arrow  (fig.  121) ;  finally,  we  have 
the  leaf-shaped  form,  a  beautiful  example  of  which  is  repre- 
sented in  fig.  122.  The  true  arrow-heads  are  generally 
about  an  inch  in  length,  but  they  pass  gradually  into  the 
javelin,  and  from  that  into  the  spear-head.  The  gi-eat 
similarity  of  arrow -heads,  even  from  the  most  distant  locali- 
ties, may  be  seen  in  figs.  123,  124,  and  125,  which  represent 
specimens  from  France,  North  America,  and  Tierra  del 
Fuego,  respectively. 


ARROWHEADS. 


103 


The  different  forms  were  perhaps  in  use  in  different  tribes, 
but  more  probably  they  are  due  to  the  variety  of  purposes 
for  which  they  were  intended  ;  thus  in  North 
America  the  war  arrows  taper  to  the  end,  so 
that  when  the  shaft  is  drawn  out,  the  head 


Fig.  122. 


Fig.  119 


Arrow'iieads. — Ireland. 


Fig.  123. 


Fig.  125. 


France. 


Tierra  del  Fuego. 


North  America. 


remains  in  the  wound;  while  hunting  arrows  are  expanded 
at  the  end,  so  that  the  head   is   drawn   out  with  the  shaft. 


104 


SAWS.       BONE    IMPLEMENTS.       AWLS. 


Among  other  tribes^  the  lance-shaped  arrows   are   used  in 
hunting,  barbed  arrow-heads  in  war*. 

Fio.  126.  There  arc  various  other  kinds 

/'~^^ =».^     of  flint  implements^  such  as  ham- 
mers, saws  (fig.  126),  harpoons, 
etc.,  but — omitting  for  the  pre- 
sent the  earlier,  or  drift  t}^es — 
Stone  Saw.  the  abovc  are  the  principal  forms 

of  stone  weapons  and  implements. 

Besides  being  employed  for  handling  the  stone  axes,  the 
bones  and  horns  of  animals  were  much  used  as  the  material 

Fig.  127. 


Bone  Awl. — Scotland. 


Fig.  128. 


of  various  simple  implements,  and  those  of  the  stag  appear  to 
have  been  preferred,  as  being  the  hardest.      The  commonest 
bone    implement    is    the    pin    or    awl    (fig. 
127)  :  not  much  less  numerous  are  certain 
oblong  chisel-like  implements  (fig.  128),  the 
use  of  which  it   is  not   easy  to   determine. 
Ribs  split  open,  and  pointed  at  one  end,  are 
sometimes  found,  and  have  been  supposed 
by   some    archaeologists   to  have   served  in 
preparing  flax ;  by  others  to  have  been  used 
in    the   manufacture    of  pottery.      Arrow- 
heads, spear-heads,  chisels,  and  bone  har- 
poons (figs.  129,  130)  also  occur.     Fig.  130 
represents    a   bone    harpoon   belonging   to 
the  Reindeer  period,  which  will  be  described 
in  the  chapter  on  Caves.     Fig.  131   repre-       Bone  implement, 
sents  a  North  American  bone  chisel  used  in  dressing  deer- 
*  Murray.     Travels  in  N.  America,  vol.  i.  p.  385. 


HARPOONS. 


105 


Fig.  129.        Fig.  130. 


Fio.  l.ll. 


skins  for  taking  off  the  hair.      Pierced  teeth  also  were  not 
unfrequently  worn  as  amulets. 

Stone  implements  are  fre- 
quently found  on  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  or  are  dug  up  in  agri- 
cultural or  other  operations.  But 
those  found  singly  in  this  manner 
have  comparatively  little  scientific 
value :  it  is  only  when  they  occur  in 
considerable  numbers,  and  espe- 
cially when  associated  with  other 
■'  ^-^  remains,  that  they  serve  to  throw 
Bo.fJ"    much  light  on  the  manners  and 

Implement. 

-North    customs  01  aucient  times.     As  al- 

America. 

ready  mentioned,  the  tumuli,  the 
lake  habitations,    and  the    shell-mounds 
are  specially  valuable  in  this  respect,  but 
I  must  also  say  a  few  words   about  the 
"  Coastfinds  ''  of  the  Danish  antiquaries. 
"  Coastfinds  "  are  discovei-ies  of  rude  flint 
implements,    which   are    found    lying    in 
large  numbers  on  certain  spots  along  the 
whole  line  of  coast.     Owing  probably  to 
the  elevation  of  the  land  which  has  taken 
place  in  Jutland   since   the    Stone  Age, 
some  of  them  are  now  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  present  water-line.    Some, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  at  low  levels ;  one, 
for  instance,  close  to  the-  Railway  station 
at  Korsor,  is  exposed  only  at  low  tide,  and 
others  are  always  covered.     The  "  Coastfinds,"  how- 
ever, belong,  probably,  to  different  classes.     Thus, 

Ancient  a     i     i  • 

Bone      one  at  Anholt  was  evidently  a  workshop  of  flint  im  - 

Harpoon. —  ''  ^ 

Denmark,    plcments,  as  is  shown  by  the  character  of  the  chips, 


Ancient  Bone 

Harpoon. — 

France. 


106  FUNT   FINDS. 

and  by  the  discovery  of  more  than  sixty  fliut  cores.  Those, 
ou  the  contrary,  which  even  at  the  present  day  are  under 
water,  were  probably  so  in  old  times,  and  as  there  are  no 
traces  of  lake  habitations  in  Denmark,  it  seems  the  most 
natural  supposition  that  they  were  the  places  where  the 
fishermen  used  to  drag  their  nets.  It  is  still  usual  to  choose 
particular  spots  for  this  purpose,  and  it  is  evident  that  many 
of  the  rude  objects  used  in  fishing,  especially  of  the  stones 
employed  as  net-weights,  would  there  be  lost.  The  objects 
discovered  are  just  what  might  have  been  expected  under 
these  circumstances.  They  consist  of  irregular  fliut  chippings, 
net-weights  or  sling-stones,  flakes,  scrapers,  awls,  and  axes. 

These  six  diS'erent  classes  of  objects  have  been  found  in 
most,  if  not  all,  of  the  coastfinds,  though  in  difierent  pro- 
portions. To  give  an  idea  of  the  numbers  in  which  thty 
occur,  I  may  mention  that  Professor  Stecustrup  and  I 
gathered  in  about  an  hour  at  Froelund  near  Korsor,  141 
flakes,  84  weights,  5  axes,  1  scraper,  and  about  150  flint 
chips ;  while  at  a  similar  spot,  near  Aarhuus  in  Jutland,  I 
myself  picked  up,  in  two  hours  and  a  half,  76  weights,  40 
flakes,  39  scrapers,  17  awls,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
£int  chips. 

In  the  sheltered  and  shallow  fjords  of  Denmark  the  sea 
is  generally  calm,  and,  in  many  instances,  a  layer  of  sand  has 
accumulated  over  and  thus  protected  the  flint  fragments. 
This  was  the  case  vith  both  the  above  mentioned  coastfinds, 
one  of  which  was  exposed  in  draining  the  land,  the  other  in 
a  railway  cutting.  Sometimes  a  change  of  currents  will 
remove  the  light  sand,  and  leave  the  heavier  stones,  which 
again  in  other  cases  have  lain  apparently  undisturbed  and 
exposed  from  the  first ;  and  in  such  instances,  the  spots  are 
sometimes  so  thickly  strewn  with  white  flints  that  they  may 
be  distinguished  by  their  colour,  even  at  a  considerable 
distance. 


FLINT   FINDS.  107 

Of  course,  in  a  sea  like  that  whicli  surrounds  our  coast, 
such  remains  would  soon  be  reduced  to  mere  gravel ;  besides 
which,  we  must  remember  that  on  our  Southern  and  Eastern 
shores,  even  in  historical  times,  the  sea  has  encroached 
greatly.  "  Fliutfinds,''  however,  resembling  in  many  respects 
these  Danish  "  coastfinds,"  are  not  altogether  unknoAvn  in 
this  country.  A  great  number  of  flint  flakes,  with  a  few 
arrows  and  cores,  were  found  some  years  ago  by  Mr.  Shelley 
in  a  field  near  Reigate,  but,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  other 
forms  have  yet  been  observed  at  this  place. 

In  the  Aberdeen  Journal  (October,  1863),  Mr.  T.  F. 
Jamieson  mentions  a  spot  on  the  banks  of  the  Ythan,  below 
Ellon,  where,  in  a  few  minutes,  he  filled  his  "  pockets  with 
flint  flakes,  abortive  arrow-heads,  flint  blocks,  from  which 
the  flakes  have  been  struck  off",  and  other  such  nondescript 
articles  of  ancient  cutlery."  There  are  many  other  places, 
as,  for  instance,  Bridlington,  Pontlevoy,  Spiennes,  near  Mens, 
several  localities  near  Macon,  which  have  been  explored  by 
MM.  H.  de  Ferry  and  A.  Arceliu,  and  above  all  the  great 
workshops  at  Pressigny-le-Grand,  discoveredby  Dr.  Leveille*, 
where  immense  numbers  of  rude  hatchets,  cores,  flakes,  spear- 
heads, etc.,  have  been  found.  Now  that  our  attention  has 
been  called  to  these  flintfinds,  no  doubt  many  similar  dis- 
coveries will  be  made  elsewhere. 

Nor  are  these  discoveries  confined  to  Europe.  Mr.  Busk 
and  Mr.  Langham  Dale  have  met  with  a,  very  similar  assem- 
blage of  flakes,  etc.,  on  the  Cape  Flats,  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  f.  Throughout  the  whole  of  America,  Australia,  and 
Polynesia  indeed,  stone  implements  were  in  use  down  to  a 
comparatively  modern  period,  and  in  many  parts  are  so  still. 
In  Asia  and  Africa,  on  the  contrary,  as  in  Europe,  stone 
implements  have,  for  the  most  part,  been  long  abandoned. 

*  See  Evans'  "Archaoolo^a",  vol.       actions  Ethn.  See.  N.  S.  vol.  v. 
40.  Steenstrup  and  Lubbock,  Trans-  f  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  1869,  p.  51. 


108  FLTKT   FJUDS. 

Still  there,  as,  for  instance,  in  Algeria  and  at  the  Cape,  in 
Palestine  and  Assyria,  in  India  and  Japan,  stone  implements 
have  been  discovered,  showing  that  these  countries  also,  like 
Europe,  have,  in  all  probability,  passed  through  an  age  of 
Stone. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MEGALITHIC   MONUMENTS   AND  TUMULI. 


ALL  over  Europe,  we  might  indeed  say  all  over  the  world, 
wherever  they  have  not  been  destroyed  by  the  plough 
or  the  hammer,  we  find  relics  of  pre-historic  times — camps, 
fortifications,  dykes,  tumuli,  menhirs   or   standing   stones. 


Fig.  132. 


Danish  Tumulus 


cromlechs  or  stone  circles,  dolmens*  or  stone  chambers,  etc., 
many  of  which  astonish  us  by  their  magnitude,  while  all  of 


*  In  this  country  it  has  become  the 
cnstom  to  reverse  these  two  names. 
Cromlech,  however,  is  derived  from 
"  Crom,"  a  circle,  and  "  Lech,"  stone, 
and  Dolmen  from   "  Daul,"  a  table. 


and  "  Maen,"  a  stone.  They  should 
therefore,  I  consider,  be  used  as  in  the 
text.  I  may  add  that  "  Menhir,"  a 
standing  stone,  is  derived  from 
"  Maen,"  stone,  and  "  hir,"  long. 


110 


TUMULI. 


them  excite  our  interest  by  the  antiquity  of  their  origin,  and 
the  mystery  with  which  they  are  surrounded. 

Fig.  133. 


Plan  of  the  iireceding. 

In-  our  own  island  the  smaller  tumuli  may  be  seen   on 
almost  every  down ;  in  the  Orkneys  alone  it  is  estimated  that 

Fig.  134. 


Sepulchral  Stone  Circle. 

more  than  two  thousand  still  remain ;  and  in  Denmark  they 
are  even  more  abundant;  they  are  found  all  over  Europe, 


TUMULI. 


Ill 


from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  Oural  mountains ;  in 
Asia  they  are  scattered  over  the  great  steppes,  from  the 

Fig.  135. 


Danish  Dolmen. 

borders  of  Russia  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  from  the  plains  of 
Siberia  to  those  of  Hindostan ;  the  entire  plain  of  Jelalabad, 
says  Masson,  "  is  literally  covered  with  tumuli  and  mounds  *." 

Fig.  136. 


Sepulchral  Stone  Circle. 

In  America  we  are  told  that  they  are  to  be  numbered  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands ;  nor  are  they  wanting  in 
Africa  t,  where  the  Pyramids  themselves  exhibit  the  most 
magnificent    development    of    the    same    idea;    indeed    the 


*  Journeys  in  Baloochistan,  Af- 
f^hanistan,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  104.  See 
also  p.  155,  and  vol.  ii.  p.  111-113. 


t  See,  for  instance,  Livingstone's 
Miss.  Travels,  pp.  2iy.  304. 


112 


MENHIRS. 


whole  world  is  studded  with  the  burial  places  of  the  dead. 
Many  of  them,  indeed,  are  small,  but  some  are  very  large ; 
Silbury  Hill,  the  highest  in  Great  Britain,  has  a  height  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy  feet ;  but  though  evidently  artificial, 
there  is  some  doubt  whether  it  is  sepulchral. 


Fio.  137. 


Kit's  Coty  House. 

The  standing  stones,  or  "  Menhirs,'^  also  were  no  doubt 
generally  erected  in  memorial  of  some  particular  event,  the 
majority  being  in  fact  the  tombstones  of  Archaic  times. 

In  addition  to  these  memorials  of  the  past,  ancient  camps 
and  fortifications  crown  many  of  our  hills. 

In  some  parts  of  Scotland  the  old  Hill  fortresses  present  the 
remarkable  peculiarity,  first  noticed  by  Mr.  John  Williams 
in  1777,  of  having  been  subjected  to  considerable  heat. 
Until  1837  these  vitrified  forts  were  supposed  to  be  peculiar 
to  our  island,  but  in  that  year  Professor  Zippe  called  atten- 
tion to  the  existence  of  similar  remains  in  Bohemia,  and 
since  that  time  vitrified  forts  have  been  discovered  in  various 
parts  of  France  and  Germany*. 

*  Eeferences  to  the  various  me-  logic,  1870,  p.  258.  See  also  papers 
moirs  in  which  these  are  described  bj>  Mr.  Stuart  and  Dr.  Fodisch  in  the 
are  given  by  Virchow,  Zeit.  f.  Ethno-       Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,  vol.  viii. 


STONE   CIRCLES.  113 

Lastly^  the  country  is  intersected  by  great  dykes,  or  lines 
of  embankment,— such,  for  instance,  as  the  Wansdyke,  the 
DeviFs  Dyke  at  Newmarket,  and  Offa's  Dyke,  which  runs 
from  the  Bristol  Channel  to  the  Dee,  thus  roughly  dividing 
England  from  Wales, — which  were  no  doubt  partly  boundary 
lines  and  partly  fortifications,  like  the  Roman  Wall  or  the 
still  more  remarkable  Wall  of  China. 

Stone  circles,  or  cromlechs,  consist  of  rough  upright 
stones,  arranged  in  a  circle.  The  usual  diameter  is  about 
-100  feet,  but  some  are  much  larger,  the  principal  circle  at 
Abury,  for  instance,  being  1200  feet  across.  Tlie  stones 
arc  placed  at  equal  distances,  and  the  number  of  them  had 
probably  some  significance.  "  The  two  inner  circles  at  Abury, 
the  lesser  circle  at  Stennis,  and  one  at  Stanton  Drew,  each 
consisted  of  twelve ;  the  outer  circles  at  Abury,  the  outer 
circles  of  uprights  and  transoms  at  Stonehenge,  the  large 
circle  at  Stanton  Drew,  and  the  circle  at  Arbor  Low,  each 
of  thirty ;  those  of  Rollrich  and  Stennis  of  sixty ;  and  the 
large  enclosing  circle  of  Abury  of  one  hundred  stones.  Four 
circles  at  Boscawen,  and  adjacent  places  in  Cornwall,  have 
each  been  formed  of  nineteen  stones  *."  Stonehenge  is  the 
most  celebrated  example  of  a  stone  circle,  but  it  differs  from 
the  usual  type  in  several  respects  :  in  having,  for  instance, 
the  principal  stones  roughly  hewn,  and  in  the  presence  of 
capstones. 

Stone  circles  are  by  no  means  confined  to  Europe.  Stanley 
saw,  a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  Tyre,  a  circle  of  rough 
upright  stones ;  and  Kohen,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  has  recently 
discovered  in  Arabia,  near  Khabb,  in  the  disl;rict  of  Kasim, 
three  large  stone  circles  described  as  being  extremely  hke 
Stonehenge,  and  consisting  of  veiy  lofty  trilithons  f. 

Arctic  travellers,  again,  mention  stone  circles  and  stone 

*  Thumam.      Crania  Britannica.  t  Bonstettcn.      Sur  lea  Dolmena, 

Decade  iv.  p.  27. 

10 


114  MENTION   OF   STONE   CIRCLES 

rows  among  the  Esquimaux.  These  are,  however,  of  a 
diflferent  character,  being  quite  small,  and  merely  the  lower 
part  of  the  habitations. 

Lafitau  figures  an  Indian  (Virginian)  temple  consisting  of 
a  circle  of  upright  stones,  which,  however,  arc  carved  at  the 
top  into  rude  representations  of  human  faces*.  Mr.  Squier 
mentions  stone  circles  as  occurring  in  Peruf. 

Even  in  Australia  stone  circles  are  said  to  occur.  Mr. 
Ormond,  in  a  letter  to  Sir  J*.  Y.  Simpson  J  ,  says  that  he  has 
seen  many,  especially  near  the  Mount  Elephant  Plains  in 
Victoria.  They  are  "  from  10  to  100  feet  in  diameter,  and 
sometimes  there  is  an  inner  circle.  The  stones  composing 
these  circles,  or  circular  areas,  vary  in  size  and  shape. 
Human  bones  have  been  dug  out  of  mounds  near  these 
circles.  The  aborigines  have  no  traditions  respecting  them. 
When  asked  about  them,  they  invariably  deny  knowledge  of 
their  origin." 

As  regards  the  period  at,  or  the  purpose  for,  which  the 
European  stone  circles  were  erected,  history  gives  us  no 
information. 

Mr.  George  Petrie,  indeed,  has  called  Dr.  Wilson's  attention 
to  several  cases  in  which  the  Orkney  circles  were  mentioned 
in  old  deeds,  etc.  §  Thus,  in  1349,  William  de  Saint  Michael 
was  summoned  to  attend  a  court  held  "  apud  stantes  lapides  de 
Eane  en  le  Garniach,"  to  answer  for  his  forcible  detention 
of  certain  ecclesiastical  property;  and  in  1380,  Alexander, 
Lord  of  Regality  of  Badenoch,  and  son  of  Robert  II.,  held  a 
court,  "apud  le  standand  stanys  de  la  Rathe  de  Kyngucy 
Estir,'*  to  enquire  into  the  titles  by  which  the  Bishop  of 
Moray  held  certain  of  His  lands.     Even  so  late  as  the  year 

*  Moeurs  des  Sauv.  Amer.  vol.  ii.  inga.     Proc.   Soc.  Ant.  Scot.  vol.  vi. 

p.  135.     I  have  given  a  copy  in  the  1867,  p.  81. 

Origin  of  Civilization,  2nd  ed.  p.  179.  §  Pre-historic  Annals  of  Scotland, 

t  Amer.  Nat.  vol.  iv.  p.  12.  2nd  edit.  vol.  i.  p.  164. 

J  Simpson  on   Ancient  Sculptur- 


IN   ANCIENT    HISTORY.  115 

1438,  we  find  a  notice,  that  "John  off  Erwyne  and  Will. 
Bernardson  swor  on  the  Hirdraane  Stein  before  oure  Lorde 
ye  Erie  off  Orknaj  and  the  gentiless  off  the  cuntre."  This 
comparatively  recent  use  of  the  stone  circles  does  not,  how- 
ever, enable  us  to  form  any  opinion  as  to  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  originally  intended. 

It  is  perhaps  more  to  the  purpose  to  observe  that  both  in 
the  Iliad  (B.  xviii.)  and  Odyssey  (B.  viii.)  assemblies  of  elders 
are  mentioned  as  sitting  in  solemn  conclave  on  stone 
seats  arranged  in  cii'cles,  but  in  the  former  case  the 
seats  are  said  to  have  been  polished.  Many,  however,  of  the 
British  stone  circles  were  certainly  sepulchral ;  and  it  seems 
probable  that  this  was  their  original  purpose;  but  that,  like 
other  shrines,  they  were  subsequently  used  as  temples. 

As  regards  stone  pillars  and  tumuli,  we  are  told,  in  Gen. 
xxxi.,  that  "Jacob  took  a  stone  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar/* 
and  in  verse  51,  "Laban  said  to  Jacob,  Behold  this  heap, 
and  behold  this  pillar,  which  I  have  cast  between  me  and 
thee.  This  heap  is  a  witness,  and  this  pillar  is  a  witness, 
that  I  will  not  pass  over  this  heap  to  thee,  and  that  thou 
shalt  not  pass  over  this  pillar  to  me,  to  do  me  harm,*'  etc. 
At  Mount  Sinai  Moses  erected  twelve  pillars  *.  And  so, 
again,  when  the  children  of  Israel  had  crossed  over  Jor- 
dan, Joshua  took  twelve  stones  and  pitched  them  in  Gilgal. 
"And  he  spake  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  ^VTien 
your  children  shall  ask  their  fathers  in  time  to  come,  saying. 
What  means  these  stones  ?  Then  ye  shall  let  your  chil- 
dren know,  saying,  Israel  came  over  this  Jordan  on  dry 
landf/' 

Achan  and  his  whole  family  were  stoned  with  stones  and 

burned  with  fire,  after  which  we  are  told  that  Israel  "  raised 

over  him  a  gi'eat  heap  of  stones  unto  this  day.     So  the  Lord 

turned  from  the  fierceness  of  his  anger."     Again,  the  king 

•  Ex.  xxiv.  4.  t  Joshua  iv.  21,  22. 


116  MENTION   OP   TUMULI 

of  Ai  was  buried  under  a  great  heap  of  stones  ;  and  so  also 
was  Absalom,  of  whom  likewise  we  are  told  that  he  "  reared 
up  for  himself  a  pillar,  which  is  in  the  King's  Dale ;  for  he 
said,  I  have  no  son  to  keep  my  name  in  remembrance,  and  he 
called  the  pillar  after  his  own  name,  and  it  is  called  unto  this 
day  Absalom's  Place." 

According  to  Diodorus,  Semiramis,  the  widow  of  Ninus, 
buried  her  husband  within  the  precincts  of  the  palace,  and 
raised  over  him  a  great  mound  of  earth.  Pausanias  mentions 
that  stones  were  collected  together,  and  heaped  up  over  the 
tomb  of  Laius,  the  father  of  CEdipus.  In  the  time  of  the 
Trojan  war,  Tydeus  and  Lycus  are  mentioned  as  having  been 
buried  under  two  earthen  barrows.  "  Hector's  barrow  was 
of  stone  and  earth.  Achilles  erected  a  tumulus,  ujjwards  of 
a^  hundred  feet  in  diameter,  over  the  remains  of  his  friend 
Patroclus.  The  mound  supposed  by  Xenophon  to  contain 
the  remains  of  Alyattes,  Father  of  Croesus,  king  of  Lydia, 
was  of  stone  and  earth,  and  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  league 
in  circumference.  In  later  times^  Alexander  the  Great 
caused  a  tumulus  to  be  heaped  over  his  friend  Hephaestion,  at 
the  cost  of  1200  talents,  no  mean  sum,  even  for  a  conqueror 
like  Alexander,  it  being  £232,500  sterling*."  Virgil  tells  us 
that  Dercennus,  king  of  Latium,  was  buried  under  an  earthen 
mound;  and,  according  to  the  earliest  historians,  whose 
statements  are  confirmed  by  the  researches  of  archeeologists, 
mound-burial  was  practised  in  ancient  times  by  the  Scythians, 
Greeks,  Etruscans,  Germans,  and  many  other  nations. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  tumuli  in  Western 
Europe  are  entirely  pre-historic,  but  there  are  some  few,  of 
which  the  date  and  origin  are  known  to  us,  such  as  the 
tumuli  of  Queen  Thyra  and  King  Gorm,  who  died  about 
950,  9,t  Jellinge,  in  Denmark. 

There  are,  moreover,  other  cases  in  which  tumuli  are  men- 

*  Ten  Years' Diggings  in  the  Celtic  and  Saxon  Gravehills,  p.  v. 


I 


I 
I 


IN    ANCIENT    HISTORY.  117 

tioned,  thougli  not  in  a  manner  wliich  enables  us  to  identify 
them  with  any  of  those  now  existing.  Thus  Gregory  of 
Tours  *  has  a  quaint  story  to  the  effect  that  Macliav,  flying 
from  his  brother  Chauaon,  took  refuge  with  Chonomor,  Count 
of  the  Bretons.  'Chanaon  sent  messengers  to  demand  that 
Macliav  should  be  given  up  to  him,  but  Chonomor  concealed 
him  in  a  tomb,  "rearing  over  him  a  tumulus  in  the  usual  man- 
ner,  but  leaving  a  small  opening  for  the  entrance  of  air ''  (com- 
ponens  desuper  ex  more  tumulum,  parvumque  ei  spiraculum 
reservans,  undo  halitum  resumere  posset).  He  then  showed 
this  tumulus  to  the  messengers,  and  assured  them  that  Macliav 
was  buried  in  it. 

The  Codex  Diplomaticus  contains  references  to  more  than 
sixty  barrows  or  lows,  bearing  the  names  of  particular  per- 
sons; some  of  them,  as  for  instance,  Wodne's  Beorgh,  or 
Woden's  Barrow,  are  probably  mythical,  but  there  is  no 
reason  whatever  to  doubt  that  some,  for  instance  Alfredo's 
Beorh,  ^thelwolde's  Beorh,  Cissan  Beorh,  Cwichclme's 
Hloew,  Oswolde's  Hlocw,  etc.,  retain  the  name  of  the  person 
really  buried  within f".  It  appears  that  in  England  the  habit 
of  burying  under  tumuli  was  finally  abandoned  during  the 
10th  century. 

The  Danish  Sagas  also  tell  us  that  in  the  middle  of  the 
8th  century,  Sigurd  Ring,  having  conquered  his  uncle.  King 
Harald  Hildetand,  in  the  battle  of  Braavalla,  "  washed  the 
corpse,  placed  it  on  Harald's  war  chariot,  and  buried  it  in  a 
tumulus  which  he  had  formed  for  the  purpose.  Harald's 
horse  also  was  slain  and  buried  with  him,  with  the  saddle,  so 
that  Harald  might  either  ride  to  Valhalla,  or  go  in  his  chariot, 
as  he  preferred,  liing  then  gave  a  great  feast,  after  which 
he  recommended  the  chiefs  present  to  throw  their  ornaments 

*  Historia  Francomm,  iv.  4.  Codex    Diplomaticus,   see    Kemble, 

t  For  an  interesting   memoir  on       Arch.  Jour.  vol.  xiv.  p.  119. 
notices  of  heathen  interment  in  the 


118  ANTIQUITY    OF   MEGALITHIC    MONUMENTS. 

and  arms  into  the  tumulus  in  honour  of  Harald.     Finally  tlio 
tumulus  was  carefully  closed  *." 

Most  of  these  monuments,  however,  are  doubtless  far  older. 
Some,  indeed,  were  ancient  and  mysterious  even  in  the  days  of 
Homer.  Thus  at  the  burial  of  Patroclus,  when  Nestor  is 
pointing  out  to  his  son  Antilochus  the  course  for  the  chariot 
race,  ho  says, — 

"  Plain  is  the  goal 

That  now  I  tell  thee  of ;  nor  caust  thou  miss  it : 
***** 
On  either  side 
Where  narrowest  is  the  way,  and  all  the  course 
Around  is  smooth,  rise  two  white  stones,  set  there 
To  mark  the  tomb  of  some  one  long  since  dead, 
Or  form  a  goal  for  men  in  ages  past  f ." 

It  is  very  striking  to  find  these  Menhirs  mentioned  in  our 
earliest  writings,  as  monuments  of  events  even  then  already 
lost  in  tho  obscurity  of  the  past. 

Many  of  the  very  largest  tumuli  in  Western  Europe  appear, 
from  the  nature  of  their  contents,  to  have  been  constructed 
during  the  Stone  Age.  At  first,  indeed,  it  seems  almost 
incredible  that  the  immense  tumuli  of  Brittany  should  have 
been  erected  by  a  people  who  possessed  no  metal.  We  must 
remember,  however,  that  some  of  the  South  Sea  monuments 
were  quite  as  considerable.  Moreover,  though  hundreds  of 
beautiful  stone  axes  and  ornaments  have  been  found  in  the 
tumuli  of  Brittany,  no  weapons  of  metal  have  yet  occurred  in 
them.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  carvings  on  some  of 
the  stones  could  not  have  been  cut  without  metal.     Actual 

*  Engelhardt.     Guide  Illustre  flu  f  Iliad,  xxiii.  384.     I  have  quoted 

Musee  des  Anti(iuitcs  du  Nord  a  Co-  from  Mr.  Wright's  translation,  which 

penhague.       1868.       See    also    Saxo  in  this    passage,    at    lonst,    is   more 

Grammaticus.      His.  Dan.    1.  x.  ch.  faithful  than  that  of  any  other  with 

zii.  which  I  am  acquainted. 


» 


I 


I 


MEGALITHIC    MONUMENTS   NOT    DRUIDICAL,  119 

experiments,  however,  as  Messrs.  Bertrand  and  do  Mortillet 
have  shown  me,  prove  that  the  stone  can  be  cut  with  flint, 
while  bronze  produces  no  effect  on  it.  Sir  James  Y.  Simpson 
also  finds  that  the  engravings  on  the  Scotch  rocks,  even  those 
on  granite,  may  have  been  carved  with  a  flint  tool  *. 

In  this  country  we  still  habitually  call  the  megalithic 
monuments  "  Druidical,"  but  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  men- 
tion that  there  is  really  no  sufficient  reason  for  connecting 
them  with  Druidical  worship. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  of  all  so-called  Druidical  monuments 
is,  or  rather  was,  the  temple  of  Abuiy,  in  Wiltshire.     It  is, 
indeed,  much  less  known  than  Stonehenge ;  and  yet,  though 
a  ruder,  it  must  have  been  originally  even  a  grander  temple. 
According  to  Aubrey,  Abury  "  did  as  much  exceed  Stone- 
henge as  a  cathedra^  does  a  parish  church."     When  perfect, 
it  consisted  of  a  circular  ditch  and  embankment,  containmg 
an  area  of  28^  acres;  inside  the  ditch  was  a  circle  of  great 
stones,  and  withm  this,  again,  two  smaller  circles,  formed  by 
a  double  row  of  smaller  stones,  standing  side  by  side.     From 
the  outer  embankment   started  two  long  winding  avenues  of 
stones,  one  of  which  went  in  the  direction  of  Beckhampton, 
and  the  other  in  that  of.  Kcnnet,  where  it  ended  in  another 
double  circle.     Stukoly  supposed  that  the  idea  of  the  whole 
was  that  of  a  snake  transmitted  through  a  circle ;  the  Kennet 
circlo  representing  the  head,  the  Beckhampton  avenue  the 
tail.     Midway  between  the  two  avenues    stood  Silbury  Hill, 
the  largest  artificial  mound  in  Great  Britain,  measuring  no 
less  than  1 70  feet  in  height.     From  its  position,  it  appears 
to  form  part  of  the  general  plan,  and  though  it  has  been 
twice  examined,  no  primary  interment  has  been  found  in  it. 
On  the  whole,  this  appears  to  have  been  at  one  time  the 
finest  megalithic  ruin  in  Europe  ;  but,  unfortunately  for  us, 
the  pretty  little  village  of  Abury,  like  some  beautiful  parasite, 
*  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,  vol.  vi.  1867,  p.  123. 


120  ABURY   AND    SILBURY   HILL. 

has  grown  up  at  tlie  expense,  and  in  tlic  midst,  of  the  ancient 
tomjalc,  and  out  of  650  great  stones,  not  above  20  are  still 
standing. 

In  a  very  interesting  memoir*  Mr.  Fergusson  has  at- 
tempted to  prove  that  both  Stouehengo  and  Abury  belong  to 
post-Roman  times.  "  The  Roman  road,"  he  says,  "  from 
Bath  to  Marlborough,  either  passes  under  Silbury  Hill,  or 
makes  a  sudden  bend  to  get  round  it  in  a  manner  that  no 
Roman  road,  in  Britain  at  least,  was  ever  known  to  do.  .  .  . 
No  one  standing  on  Oldborough  Down,  and  casting  his  eye 
along  its  straight  unbending  line,  can  avoid  seeing  that  iti 
runs  straight  at  the  centre  of  Silbury  Hill.  It  is  true,  it  may 
have  diverged  just  before  hitting  it,  but  nothing  can  be  more 
unlikely.  It  would  have  been  just  as  easy  for  the  Roman 
engineer  to  have  carried  its  arrow-likg  course  a  hundred 
yards  to  the  right.  This,  indeed,  would  have  been  a  pre- 
ferable line,  looked  at  from  a  Roman  point  of  view, — straight 
for  Marlborough,  to  which  it  was  tending,  and  Jittuig  better 
to  a  fragment  of  the  road  found  beyond  the  village  of  Kennet. 
But  all  this  was  'disregarded,  if  the  hill  existed  at  that  time, 
and  the  road  runs  straight  at  its  heart,  as  if  on  purpose  to 
make  a  sharp  tm'n  to  avoid  it, — a,  thing  as  abhorrent  to  a 
Roman  road-maker,  as  a  vacuum  is  said  to  be  to  nature. 
From  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  the  conclusion  seems  inevitable,  that  Silbury  Hill 
stands  on  the  Roman  road,  and  consequently  must  have  been 
erected  subsequently  to  the  time  of  the  Romans  leaving  the 
country  .'■* 

Startled  by  this  argument,  and  yet  satisfied  that  there 
must  bo  some  error,  I  turned  to  the  Ordnance  map,  and 
found,  to  my  surprise,  that  the  Roman  road  was  distinctly 
laid  down  as  passing,  not  under,  but  at  the  side  of,  Silbury 
Hill.  Not  content  with  this,  I  persuaded  Professor  Tyndall 
*  Quarterly  Eeview,  July,  1860,  p.  209. 


STONEHENGE.  121 

to  visit  the  locality  with  rae^  and  we  convinced  ourselves 
that  upon  this  point  the  map  was  quite  correct.  The 
impression  on  our  minds  was  that  the  Eoman  engineer, 
in  constructing  the  road  from  Morgan's  Hill,  had  taken 
Silbury  Hill  as  a  point  to  steer  for,  swerving  only  just 
before  reaching  it.  Moreover,  the  map  will  show  that  not 
only  this  Roman  road,  but  some  others  in  the  same  part  of 
England,  are  less  straight  than  is  usually  the  case. 

Since  the  jfirst  edition  of  this  work  was  published,  excava- 
tions, at  which  I  was  present,  have  been  made  at  the  side  of 
Silbury  Hill,  and  the  ditches  running  along  the  Roman  road 
were  clearly  traced.  Mr.  Fergusson  himself  admits,  in  the 
passage  just  cited,  that  the  pieces  of  the  road  on  the  two 
sides  of  Silbury  Hill  are  not  in  the  same  straight  line,  so 
that  there  must  have  been  a  bend  somewhere.  On  the 
whole,  therefore,  I  quite  agree  with  old  Stukeley,  that  the 
Roman  road  curved  abruptly  southward,  to  avoid  Silbui-y 
Hill,  and  that  "this  shows  Silbury  Hill  was  ancienter  than 
the  Roman  road*."  How  much  more  ancient  it  is  impos- 
sible to  sayf. 

As  regards  Stonchenge,  we  have,  I  think,  satisfactory 
reasons  for  attributing  it  to  the  Bronze  Age. 

The  historical  account,  if  I  may  use  such  an  expression,  of 
Stonehenge  is,  that  it  was  erected  by  Aurelius  Ambrosius  in 
memory  of  the  British  chieftains,  treacherously  murdered  by 
Hengist  and  the  Saxons,  about  the  year  460.  Giraldus 
Cambrensis,  writing  at  the  close  of  the  12th  century,  says, 
"  That  there  was  in  Ireland,  in  ancient  times,  a  pile  of  stones 
worthy  of  admiration,  called  the  Giant's  Dance,  because 
giants,  from  the  remotest  part  of  Africa,  brought  them  into 

*  Mr.     Blandford,    who    supcrin-  in  the  samo  volume,  by  the  Rev.  A. 

tended    the  opening  of  the  Hill   in  C.  Smith. 

1849,  came  also  to  the  same  conclu-  f  Stukeley  thinks  it  was  founded  " 

sion.     Proc.   Archajol.  Inst.  1819,  p.  in  1859  B.C.,  the  year  of  the  death  of 

303.  See  also  the  interesting  memoir  Sarah,  Abraham's  wife. 


122  "  MYTHICAL   ACCOUNT   OF    STONEHENGE. 

Ireland  ;  and  in  the  plains  of  Kildare,  not  far  from  the 
Castle  of  Naas,  as  well  by  force  of  art  as  strength,  miracu- 
lously set  them  up ;  and  similar  stones,  erected  in  a  like 
manner,  are  to  be  seen  there  at  this  day.  It  is  wonderful 
how  so  many  and  such  large  stones  could  have  been  collected 
in  one  place,  and  by  what  artifice  they  could  have  been 
erected;  and  other  stones,  not  less  in  size,  placed  upon 
such  large  and  lofty  stones,  which  appear,  as  it  were,  to  be 
so  suspended  in  the  air,  as  if  by  the  design  of  the  workmen, 
rather  than  by  the  support  of  the  upright  stones.  These 
stones  (according  to  the  British  history)  Aurelius  Ambrosiua 
king  of  the  Britons,  procured  Merlin,  by  supernatural  means, 
to  bring  from  Ireland  into  Britain.  And  that  he  might, 
leave  some  famous  monument  of  so  great  a  treason  to  future 
ages,  in  the  same  order  and  art  as  they  stood  formerly,  set 
them  up  where  the  flower  of  the  British  nation  fell  by  the 
cut-throat  practice  of  the  Saxons,  and  where,  under  the 
pretence  of  peace,  the  ill-secured  youth  of  the  kingdom,  by 
murderous  designs,  were  slain  *.^^ 

This  account  is  clearly  mythical.  The  larger  stones  were 
evidently  obtained  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  are  in  fact 
"  Sarcens,'^  identical  with  those  which  occur  in  hundreds  on 
Salisbury  Plain.  Moreover,  the  very  name  of  Stonehenge, 
like  those  of  Stanton  Drew,  Stennis,  etc.,  seems  to  me  a 
very  strong  argument  against  those  who  attribute  these 
monuments  to  so  recent  an  origin.  Stonehenge  is  generally 
considered  to  mean  the  Hanging-stones,  as  indeed  was  long 
ago  suggested  by  Wace,  an  Anglo-Norman  poet,  who  says  : 

Stanhcngues  out  nom  en  Englois 
Pieres  pandues  en  Francois  f , 

but  it  is  surely  more  natural  to  derive  the  last  syllable  from 
the  Anglo- Saxon  word  "  ing,'^  a  field  ;  as  we  have  Keston, 

*  Giraldus.     Topogr.  of  Ireland. 

•f  Wright's  Wanderings  of  an  Antiquary,  p,  301, 


ORIGIN   OF   THE    NAME.  123 

originally  Kyst-staning,  the  field  of  stone  coffins.  What 
more  natural  than  that  a  new  race,  finding  this  magnificent 
ruin,  standing  in  solitary  grandeur  on  Salisbury  Plain,  and 
able  to  learn  nothing  of  its  origin,  should  call  it  simply  the 
place  of  stones?  What  more  unnatural  than  that  they  should 
do  so,  if  they  knew  the  name  of  him  in  whose  honour  it  was 
erected  ?  The  plan  also  of  Stonehenge  seems  to  be  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  not  referring  it  to  post-Roman  times.  It 
has,  indeed,  been  urged  that  if  Stonehenge  had  existed  in 
the  time  of  Caesar,  we  should  find  it  mentioned  by  ancient 
writers.  Hecatasus,  however,  does  allude  to  a  magnificent 
cii'cular  temple,  in  the  island  of  the  Hyperboreans,  over 
against  Celtica,  and  many  archa}ologists  have  confidently 
assmned  that  this  refers  to  Stonehenge.  But  why  should  wo 
expect  to  find  it  described,  if  it  was,  as  we  suppose,  even  at 
that  time  a  ruin,  more  perfect,  no  doubt,  than  at  this  day, 
but  still  a  ruin  ?  The  Caledonian  Wall  was  a  most  impor- 
tant fortification,  constructed  by  the  Eomans  themselves, 
and  yet,  as  Dr.  Wilson  tells  us*,  only  one  of  the  Roman 
historians  makes  the  least  allusion  to  its  erection,  nor  is 
Abury  itself  mentioned  by  any  mediaeval  author. 

It  is  evident  that  Stonehenge  was  at  one  time  a  spot  of 
great  sanctity.  A  glance  at  the  Ordnance  map  will  show 
that  tumuli  cluster  in  great  numbers  round,  and  within 
sight  of  it ;  within  a  radius  of  three  miles,  there  are  about 
three  hundred  burial  mounds,  while  the  rest  of  the  cquntry 
is  comparatively  free  from  them.  If,  then,  we  could  deter- 
mine the  date  of  these  tumuli,  we  should  be  justified,  I  think, 
in  referring  the  Great  Temple  itself  to  the  same  period. 
Now,  of  these  barrows.  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  examined 
a  great  number,  151  of  which  had  not  been  previously 
opened.  Of  these  the  great  majority  contained  interments 
by  cremation,  in  the  manner  usual  during  the  Bronze  Age. 
•  Pre-Historic  Ann.  of  Scot.  vol.  ii.  p.  39. 


124  STOXEHEXGE   A    MONUMENT   OF   THE    BKONZE   AGE. 

Only  two  contaiucd  any  ii'on  weapons,  and  these  were  both 
secondary  interments ;  that  is  to  say,  the  owners  of  the  iron 
weapons  were  not  the  original  occupiers  of  the  tumuli.  Of 
the  other  burial  mounds  no  less  than  39  contained  objects  of 
bronze,  and  one  of  them,  in  which  were  found  a  spear-head^ 
and  pin  of  bronze,  was  still  more  connected  with  the  temple 
by  the  presence  of  fragments,  not  only  of  Sarcen  stones,  but 
also  of  the  blue  stones  which  form  the  inner  circle  at  Stone- 
henge;  and  which,  according  to  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare,  do  not 
naturally  occur  in  Wiltshire.  Stonehenge  then  may,  I  think, 
be  regarded  as  a  monument  of  the  Bronze  Age,  though 
apparently  it  was  not  all  erected  at  one  time,  the  inner  circle 
of  small,  unwrought,  blue  stones  being,  probably,  older  than 
the  rest ;  as  regards  Abury,  since  the  stones  are  all  in  their 
natural  condition,  while  those  of  Stonehenge  are  roughly 
hewn,  it  seems  reasonable  to  conclude  that  Abury  is  the 
older  of  the  two,  and  belongs  either  to  the  close  of  the  Stone 
Age,  or  to  the  commencement  of  that  of  Bronze. 

Both  Abury  and  Stonehenge  were,  I  believe,  used  as 
temples.  Some  of  the  stone  circles,  however,  have  been 
proved  to  be  burial  places.  In  fact,  a  complete  burial  place 
may  be  described  as  a  dolmen,  covered  by  a  tumulus,  and 
surrounded  by  a  stone  circle.  Often,  however,  we  have  only 
the  tumulus,  sometimes  only  the  dolmen,  and  sometimes 
again  only  the  stone  circle. 

The  celebrated  monument  of  Carnac  (fig.  138),  in  Brit- 
tany, consists  of  eleven  rows  of  unhewn  stones,  which  differ 
greatly  both  in  size  and  height,  the  largest  being  22  feet 
above  ground,  while  some  are  quite  small.  It  appears  that 
the  avenues  originally  extended  for  several  miles,  but  at 
presefit  they  are  very  imperfect,  the  stones  having  been 
cleared  away  in  places  for  agricultural  improvements.  At 
present,  therefore,  there  are  several  detached  portions,  which, 
however^  have  the  same  general  direction,  and  appear  to 


MEGAUTHIC    MONUMENTS    IN    INDIA.  125 

have  been  connected  togetlier.  Fig.  138  is  from  a  skctcli 
made  by  Dr.  Hooker,  when  we  visited  Brittany  together,  in 
the  spring  of  1867. 

Most  of  the  great  tumuli  in  Brittany  probably  belong  to 
the  Stone  Age,  and  I  am  therefore  disposed  to  regard  Carnac 
as  having  been  erected  during  the  same  period. 


Megalithic  erections,  resembling  those  which  are  generally, 
but  without  sufficient  reason  ascribed  to  the  Druids,  are 
found  in  very  distant  countries.  In  Moab,  De  Saulcy  ob- 
served rude  stone  avenues,  and  other  monuments,  which  he 
compares  to  Celtic  dolmens.  Lieut,  Oliver,  also,  mentions 
that  the  Hovas  of  Madagascar  to  this  day  erect  monoliths 
and  stone  tombs  closely  resembling  those  of  Western 
Europe*.  Mr.  Maurice f  was,  I  believe,  the  first  to  point 
out,  that  in  some  parts  of  India,  there  are  various  monuments 
of  stone,  which,  in  the  words  of  Colonel  Yule,  ''^  recall  strongly 
those  mysterious,  solitary,  or  clustered  monuments  of  un- 
known origin,  so  long  the  puzzle  and  delight  of  antiquaries, 
which  abound  in  our  native  country,  and  are  seen  here  and 
there  in  all  parts  of  Europe  and  Western  Asia|."     Mr.  Fer- 

*  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  1870,  p.  67.  t  Jour,  of  the  Asiat.  Soc.  of  Ben- 

t  India,  Antiqua.  gal,  vol.  xiii.  p.  617.     Sea  also  Proc. 


126  MEGALITHIC    MONUMENTS    IN    INDIA. 

gusson  goes  farther,  and  argues  with  great  ingenuity  that 
the  "  Buddhist  architecture  in  India,  as  practised  from  the 
third  century  B.C.  to  seventh  a.d.,  is  essentially  tumular, 
circular,  and  external,  thus  possessing  the  three  great  cha- 
racteristics of  all  the  so-called  Druidical  remains*.''  These 
resemblances,  indeed,  are  too  great  to  be  accidental,  and  the 
differences  represent,  not  so  much  a  difference  in  style,  as  in 
civilization.  Thus,  the  tumuli  of  India,  though  sometimes  of 
earth,  are  "  generally  of  rubble  masonry  internally,  and  of 
hewn  stone  or  brick  on  the  external  surface,  and  originallyt 
were  apparently  always  surrounded  by  a  circular  enclosure  of 
upright  stones,  though  in  later  times  this  came  to  be  attached 
to  the  building  as  an  ornamental  band,  instead  of  an  inde- 
pendent feature.  In  the  most  celebrated  example  in  India, 
that  at  Sanchee,  the  circle  consists  of  roughly  squared 
upright  stone  posts,  joined  at  the  top  by  an  architrave  of  the 
same  thickness  as  the  posts,  exactly  as  at  Stonehenge  j  the 
only  difference  being  the  insertion  of  three  stone  rails  be- 
tween each  of  the  uprights,  which  is  a  masonic  refinement 
hardly  to  be  expected  among  the  Celts.'"  In  India,  then, 
the  circles  of  stones  seem  generally  to  have  surrounded 
tumuli ;  but  this  is  not  always  the  case,  and  there  are  some, 
'''which  apparently  enclose  nothing."  Again,  they  are  gene- 
rally covered  with  sculpture ;  but  to  this  also  there  are 
exceptions,  as,  for  instance,  at  Amravati,  where  thei*e  are 
numberless  little  circles  of  rude  unhewn  stone,  identical 
with  those  in  this  country,  but  smaller." 

In  Europe  we  know  that  the  stones  of  Megalithic  monu- 
ments are  almost  invariably  uncarved. 

There  is  indeed  a  dolmen,  near  Confolens  in  Charente,  in 

Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  93.  Wise,  ditto,  p.  154.     Hooker's  Hima- 

Babington,  Trans.  Lit.  Soc.  Bombay,  .  layan  Journals.     Taylor,  Trans.  Roy. 

1823.     Congreve,   Madras    Jour,    of  Irish  Acad.  vol.  xxiv.  &c. 
Lit.  and  Science,  1847.     Yule,  Proc.  *  1.  c.  p.  212. 

Soc.   Ant.   Scotland,   vol.   i.   p.   93. 


MODERN    INDIAN    DOLMENS.  127 

which  the  upper  stone  is  supported,  not  on  rude  stone  blocks, 
but  on  four  slender  columns*.  I  agree,  however,  with  M. 
Rochebrune,  that  the  supports  were  probably  carved  at  a 
period  long  subsequent  to  the  erection  of  the  monument f. 
At  Stonehcnge  the  stones  are  roughly  hewn,  but  at  this  stage 
the  Megalithic  architecture  in  Western  Europe  seems  to  have 
been  replaced  by  a  totally  different  style.  In  Algeria  J,  on 
the  contrary,  it  advanced  further;  we  there  find  tumuli  of 
regular  masonry  and  stone  circles,  in  which  the  floors  are 
paved.  On  the  principal  stones  in  one  of  the  stone  circles 
are  letters,  the  meaning  of  which,  however,  is  unknown.  In 
India  it  reached  a  still  higher  stage  of  development,  so  that 
it  requires  an  observant  eye  to  detect  in  the  rude  cromlechs, 
stone  circles,  and  tumuli,  the  prototypes  of  the  highly  deco- 
rated architecture  of  the  Buddhists. 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  fact,  that  even  to  the  present  dav, 
some  of  the  hill  tribes  in  India  continue  to  erect  menhirs, 
cromlechs,  and  other  combinations  of  gigantic  stones,  some- 
times singly,  sometimes  in  rows,  sometimes  in  circles,  in 
either  case  very  closely  resembling  those  found  in  Western 
Europe.  Among  the  Khasias  §,  "  the  funeral  ceremonies  are 
the  only  ones  of  any  importance,  and  are  often  conducted  with 
barbaric  pomp  and  expense;  and  rude  stones  of  gigantic 
proportions  are  erected  as  monuments,  singly  or  in  rows, 
circles,  or  supporting  one  another  like  those  of  StonehengCj 
which  they  rival  in  dimensions  and  appearance." 

The  single  pillars  are  sometimes  tombstones,  sometimes 
memorials  of  important  events.  Colonel  Yule  once  asked  a 
native  if  there  were  any  tradition  about  one  of  these  pillars, 

*  Statistique  Monumentale  de  la  do   la   Societe    Archeologique   do  la 

Charentc.  Province   de  Constantine.      1863,  p. 

t  Mem.  sur  Ics  Restcg  d'industrie  214     See  also  Letourneux.      Ar.   f. 

appartenant  aux  tempg  primordiaiix  Anthropologne.     1868,  p.  307. 
dans  le  Dep.  de  la  Charente.    1866.  §  Dr.    Hooker's   Himalayan  Jour. 

X  Kecueil  dea  Notices  et  Memoires  vol.  ii.  p,  276.     S*  also  p.  320. 


128 


MODERN    INDIAN    DOLMENS. 


which  is  knowTi  as  Mausraai,  i.  e.  "  the  stone  of  the  oath." 
"  There  was  war/'  said  the  man,  "  between  two  villages,  and 
when  they  made  peace,  and  swore  to  it,  they  erected  this  stone 
for  a  u'itncss*.'' 


Fig.  139. 


Indian  Dolmens. 


Dr.  Hookcrf  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
Klhasian  word  for  a  stone,  "Mau,"  as  commonly  occurs  in 
the  names  of  their  villages  and  places,  as  that  of  Man,  Maen, 
and  Men  does  in  those  of  Brittany,  Wales,  Cornwall,  etc., 
thus  Mausmai  signifies  in  Khasia  the  Stone  of  Oath, — 
Mamloo,  the  Stone  of  Salt, — Mouflong,  the  grassy  Stone, 
just  as  in  Wales,  Penmaenmawr  signifies  the  hill  of  the  big 
stone;  while  a  Menhir  is  a  standing  stone,  and  a  Dolmen  a 
table  stone,  etc.  Those  who  believe  that  the  use  of  metal 
was  introduced  into  Europe  by  a  race  of  Indo-European 
origin,  will  find  in  these  facts  an  interesting  confirmation  of 
their  opinion. 

How  closely  these  Indian  dolmens  resemble  those  of 
Europe  may  be  seen  by  comparing  figs.  139  and  140,  with 
531  and  137. 


*  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,  vol. 
i.  p.  93.  • 


t  Address  to  the  British  Associa- 
tion, 1868,  p.  7. 


MODERN    INDIAN    DOLMENS. 


129 


The  Indian  dolmens,  as  shown  in  the  valuable  memoirs  by 
Captain  Meadows  Taylor*  (figs.  139,  140),  may  truly  be 
said  to  be  identical  with  those  of  Western  Europe.  He  exa- 
mined a  very  considerable  number,  having  obtained  particu- 
lars of  no  less  than  2129  dolmens  in  the  district  of  Bellary, 
in  the  Dekhan,  and  it  is  interesting  that,  as  is  sometimes  the 
case  in  Europe,  more  than  1100  had  an  opening  in  one  of 
the  side  stones,  doubtless  in  order  to  introduce  food  for  the 
dead.  Montporieux  figures  (pi.  xxx.)  a  dolmen  with  a  similar 
hole  in  his  work  on  the  Caucasus ;  and  Schoolcraft  mentions 
that  in  the  United  States  the  Eedskins  very  frequently  left 
an  opening  in  the  grave  cover  for  the  same  purpose  f. 


Fm.  140 


Indian  Dolmen. 

We  must  not,  however,  attribute  too  much  importance  to 
the  similarity  existing  between  the  megalithic  erections  in 
various  parts  of  the  world.  Give  any  child  a  box  of  bricks, 
and  it  will  immediately  build  dolmens,  cromlechs,  and  '^  tri- 
lithons,"  like  those  of  Stonchcnge,  so  that  the  construction  of 
these  remarkable  monuments  may  be  regarded  fts  another 
illustration  of  the  curious  similarity  existing  between  the 
child  and  the  savage. 


*  Trans.  R.  Irish  Academy,  vol. 
xxiv.  p.  329.  See  also  Col.  Forbes 
Leslie's  valuable  work,   "  The  Early 

11 


Eaces  of  Scotland." 

t  Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes,  Pt. 
i.  p.  33. 


130  MODES    OF   BURIAL   IN    TUMULI. 

Tumuli  or  barrows  are  mucli  more  numerous  and  more 
widely  distributed  tlian  stone  circles.  No  doubt  the  great 
majority  of  them  are  burial  mounds,  but  some  also  were 
erected  as  memorials,  like  the  "heap  of  witness'^  erected 
by  Laban  and  Jacob,  or  the  mound  heaped  up  by  the  Ten 
thousand  in  their  celebrated  retreat,  when  they  obtained  their 
first  view  of  the  sea. 

The  size  of  the  tumulus  may  be  taken  as  a  rough  indication 
of  the  estimation  in  which  the  deceased  was  held,  as  James* 
also  tells  us  was  the  case  among  the  North  American  Indians. 
The  Scotch  Highlanders  f  have  a  complimentary  })roverb, 
"  Curri  mi  clach  er  du  cuirn,"  i.  e.  "  I  will  add  a  stone  to  your 
cairn,^^  and  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  R.  Gray  that  the  custom 
still  exists  in  the  Hebrides,  as  it  does  among  various  savage 
and  semi-savage  races. 

The  remark  made  by  Schoolcraft  as  regards  the  American 
Indians  is  applicable  to  many  savage  tribes.  "  Nothing  that 
the  dead  possessed  was  deemed  too  valuable  to  be  interred 
with  the  body.  The  most  costly  dress,  arms,  ornaments,  and 
implements,  are  deposited  in  the  grave;"  which  is  "placed 
in  the  choicest  scenic  situations — on  some  crowning  hill  or 
gentle  eminence  in  a  secluded  valley."  And  the  North 
American  Indians  are  said,  even  until  within  the  last  few 
years,  to  have  cherished  a  friendly  feeling  for  the  French, 
because,  in  the  time  of  their  supremacy,  they  had  at  least 
this  one  great  merit,  that  they  never  disturbed  the  resting- 
places  of  the  dead. 

Coffins  do  not  appear  to  have  been  used  during  the  Stone 
Age,  though  Mr.  Greenwell  has  sometimes  found  traces  of 
decayed  \#od,  and  in  one  case  the  side  of  a  grave  showed  the 
impression  of  a  rough  board.  The  majority  of  tumuli  are  mere 
heaps  of  earth,  or  of  stones,  covering  the  bones  or  ashes  of  the 

*  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Moun-  f  Wilson,   Pre-Listoric   Annals  of 

tains,  vol.  ii.  p  2.  Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  86,  2nd  ed. 


CHAMBERED   TUMULI.  131 

dead;  in  many  cases,  however,  the  mound  contains  a  cist  of 
stones,  evidently  intended  to  protect  the  remains  of  the  de- 
ceased, while  in  other  cases  the  dead  was  buried  in  a  dolmen, 
more  or  less  resembling  those  represented  in  figs.  135-137, 
and  the  whole  was  then  covered  over.  Such  dolmens,  either 
covered  or  uncovered,  occur,  as  already  mentioned,  in  Northern 
Africa,  and  in  India.  Some  archaeologists  have  considered 
that  all  dolmens  were  originally  covered  with  earth  or  stones, 
but  1  think  the  evidence  shows  that  some  at  least  were 
intentionally  left  exposed. 

Some  of  the  oldest  tumuli  of  Scandinavia  are  of  a  different 
character.  They  contain  a  passage,  formed  by  great  blocks 
of  stone,  almost  always  opening  (as  do  those  of  Brittany) 
towards  the  south  or  east — never  to  the  north — and  leading 
into  a  large  central  chamber,  round  which  the  dead  sit.  At 
Goldhavn,  for  instance,  in  the  year  1 830,  a  grave  (if  so  it  can 
be  called)  of  this  kind  was  opened,  and  numerous  skeletons 
were  found,  sitting  on  a  low  seat  round  the  walls,  each  with 
his  weapons  and  ornaments  by  his  side.  Now,  the  dwell- 
ings used  by  Arctic  nations — the  "winter-houses"  of  the 
Esquimaux  and  Greenlanders,  the  "Yurts"  of  the  Siberians — 
correspond  closely  with  these  '^Ganggrabeh"  or  "Passage 
graves."  The  Siberian  Yurt,  for  instance,  as  described  by 
Erman,  consists  of  a  central  chamber,  sunk  a  little  in  the 
ground,  and,  in  the  absence  of  great  stones,  formed  of 
timber,  while  earth  is  heaped  up  on  the  roof  and  against 
the  sides,  reducing  it  to  the  form  of  a  mound.  The  opening 
is  on  the  south,  and  a  small  hole  for  a  window  is  sometimes 
left  on  the  east  side.  Instead  of  glass,  a  plate  of  ice  is  used  ; 
it  is  at  first  a  foot  thick,  and  four  or  five  generally  last  through 
the  winter.  The  fire-place  is  opposite  the  entrance  ;  and 
round  the  sides  of  the  room,  against  the  walls,  "  the  floor  is 
raised  for  a  width  of  about  six  feet,  and  on  this  elevated  part 
the  inmates  slept  at  night,  and  sat  at  work  by  day." 


132 


THE    USE    OP   TUMULI    AS    DWELLINGS. 


Captain  Cook  gives  a  very  similar  description  of  the  winter 
habitations  used  by  the  Tschutski  in  the  extreme  north-east 
of  Asia.  They  are,  he  says*,  "  exactly  Hke  a  vault,  the  floor 
of  which  is  sunk  a  little  below  the  surface  of  the  earth.  One 
of  them,  which  I  examined,  was  of  an  oval  form,  about  twenty 
feet  long  and  twelve  or  more  high.  The  framing  was  com- 
posed of  wood,  and  the  ribs  of  whales,  disposed  in  a  judicious 
manner,  and  bound  together  with  smaller  materials  of  the 
same  sort.  Over  this  framing  is  laid  a  covering  of  strong 
coarse  grass,  and  that,  again,  is  covered  with  earth ;  so  that, 
on  the  outside,  the  house  looks  like  a  little  hillock  supported 
by  a  wall  of  stone  three  or  four  feet  high,  which  is  built 
round  the  two  sides  and  one  end."  • 

Fig.  141. 


Summer  and  Winter  Dwellings. — Kamskatka. 

Fig.  141*  represents  the  plan  of  a  Laplander's  gamme,  or 
hut,  at  Komagfiord,  as  given  by  Mr.  Brooke  f.  It  was  built  of 
sods,  supported  by  a  rude  framework,  and  the  interstices  were 
stuffed  with  moss.  The  greatest  height  was  6ft.,  the  breadth 
14ft.,  the  whole  length  30ft.  A  is  the  door;  B,  the  passage, 
3ft.  high.  Oft.  broad,  and  12ft.  in  length;  C  is  the  inner  door. 


*  Voyages  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
vol.  ii.  p.  450.  Seo  also  vol.  iii.  p.  374. 


t  Brooke's  Travels  in  Lapland,  p. 
318. 


YtTRTS   AND    GAMMES. 


333 


opening  into  the  gamme,  D;  E,  tlie  fire-place,  composed  of 
a  few  large  stones  to  confine  tlie  wood-fire;  F,  an  opening 
in  the  roof  to  let  out  the  smoke;  G,  G  are  sleeping  divisions, 
which  serve  also  to  support  the  roof;  H  is  a  portion  fenced 
off  for  the  sheep  and  goats.  A  comparison  of  this  hut 
with  the  corresponding  plan  of  a  tumulus  (fig.  143)  will 
show   how   closely   these   dwellings   appear   to   agree  with 


Fig.  141*. 


Laplander's  Gamine,  or  Hut. 

the  "  Ganggraben :"  indeed,  it  is  possible  that  in  some 
cases  ruined  dwellings  of  this  kind  have  been  mistaken 
for  sepulchral  tumuli*;  for  some  mounds  have  been  exa- 
mined which  contained  broken  implements,  pottery,  ashes, 
etc.,  but  no  human  bones;  in  short,  numerous  indications 
of  hfe,  but  no  trace  of  death.  We  know,  also,  that  several 
savage  tribes  have  a  superstitious  reluctance  to  use  any 
thing  which  has  belonged  to  a  dead  person;  in  some  cases 
this  applies  to  his  house,  which  is  either  deserted  or  used  as 
a  grave.  The  Indians  of  the  Amazons  bury  theii'  dead  under 
their  houses,  which,  however,  are  not  therefore  abandoned 
by  the  living. 

Among  the  New  Zealanders,  on  the  contrary,  according  to 

•  The  so-called  "  Pond-barrows"  i)erhaps  belong  to  this  class. 


134  HCT-BURIAL   AMONG    MODERN    SAVAGES. 

Mr.  Taylor,  "  when  the  owner  died,  and  was  buried  in  his 
house,  it  was  left  with  all  it  contained:  the  door  was  tied  up 
and  painted  with  ochre,  to  show  it  was  made  tapu,  and  then 
no  one  ever  entered  it  again*. '^  In  many  villages,  he  says, 
nearly  half  the  houses  belonged  to  the  dead. 

The  islanders  of  Torres  Straits  also  used  the  ordinary  huts 
as  dead  houses  f. 

Denham  J  also  states  that  in  the  great  central  African  king- 
dom of  Bornou  ''  every  one  is  buried  under  the  floor  of  his 
own  house,  without  monument  or  memorial;  and  among  the 
commonalty  the  house  continues  occupied  as  usual,  but 
among  the  great  there  is  more  refinement,  and  it  is  ever 
afterwards  abandoned."  The  same  is  the  case  with  the 
Dahomans,  Yorubans,  and  other  races  of  the  Gold  Coast  §. 
It  is  still  more  significant  that  the  Esquimaux  themselves 
-frequently  leave  the  dead  in  the  houses  which  they  occupied 
when  alive  ||.  Nor  can  any  one  compare  the  plan  of  a  Scandi- 
navian "  passage  grave,"  as,  for  instance,  the  one  represented 
in  fig.  14'i,  with  any  drawing  (see  fig.  141*)  of  an  Esquimaux 
snow  house,  without  being  struck  with  the  jgreat  similarity 
existing  between  them. 

Under  these  circumstances,  there  seems  much  probability 
in  the  view  advocated  by  Professor  Nilsson,  the  venerable 
archa3ologist  of  Sweden,  that  these  "  Ganggraben "  are  a 
copy,  a  development,  or  an  adaptation,  of  the  dwelling-house ; 
that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Scandinavia,  unable  to  imagine 
a  future  altogether  different  from  the  present,  or  a  world  quite 
unlike  our  own,  showed  their  respect  and  affection  for  the 
dead,  by  burying  with  them  those  things  which  in  life  they 
had  valued  most :  with  women  their  ornaments,  with  warriors 

*  New   Zealand   and  its   Inhabi-  55-130. 

tants,  p.  101.  §  Burton's    Mission     to   Dahome, 

t  M'Gillivray,  Voyage  of  tho  Rat-  vol.  ii.  p.  2. 

tlesnake,  vol.  ii.  p.  48.  ||   Ross'   Arctic  Expedition,   1829- 

X  Travels   in  Africa,   vol.   iv.  pp.  1833,  p.  290. 


PICTS'    HOUSES.  135 

their  weapons.  They  buried  the  house  with  its  owner,  and 
the  grave  was  literally  the  dwelling  of  the  dead.  When  a 
great  man  died,  he  was  placed  on  his  favourite  seat,  food  and 
drink  were  arranged  before  him,  his  weapons  were  placed  by 
his  side,  his  house  was  closed,  and  the  door  covered  up ; 
sometimes,  however,  to  be  opened  again  when  his  wife  or 
children  joined  him  in  the  laud  of  spirits. 

It  is  just  possible  that  the  comparative  rarity  of  chambered 
tumuli  in  England  and  France  may  be  connected  with  the 
greater  mildness  of  the  climate,  which  did  not  necessitate 
the  use  of  underground  "  winter-houses ;"  or  it  may  be  an 
indication  of  a  difference  in  race.  Further  investigations 
will,  doubtless,  decide  this  point.  In  the  meantime  we  must 
remember  that  the  so-called  "  Picts'  Houses  "  are  abundant 
in  the  northern  parts  of  Great  Britain,  These  curious 
dwellings  are  "  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  larger 
tumuli ;  but  on  digging  into  the  green  mound,  it  is  found  to 
cover  a  series  of  large  chambers,  built  generally  with  stones 
of  considerable  size,  and  converging  towards  the  centre, 
where  an  opening  appears  to  have  been  left  for  light  and 
ventilation.  These  differ  little  from  many  of  the  subter- 
ranean weems,  excepting  that  they  are  erected  on  the 
natural  surface  of  the  soil,  and  have  been  buried  by  means  of 
an  artificial  mound  heaped  over  them  *." 

According  to  Mr.  Bateman,  who  has  recorded  the  syste- 
matic opening  of  more  than  four  hundred  tumuli  (a  very 
large  proportion  of  which  were  investigated  in  his  presence), 
and  whose  opinion  is,  therefore,  of  great  value,  "  the  funda- 
mental design  of  them  (i.  e.  the  British  tumuli),  with  the 
exception  of  the  very  few  chambered  or  galleried  mounds 
in  Berkshire,  Gloucestershire,  Wiltshire,  Ireland,  etc.,  as 
New  Grange,  Wayland  Smith's  Cave,  Uleybury,  and  others, 
and  those  of  the  much  later  Saxon  period,  is  pretty  nearly 

*  Wilson,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  116. 


136  THE   MOUND    BUILDERS. 

the  same  in  most  places;  the  leading  feature  of  these 
sepulchral  mounds  is,  that  they  enclose  either  an  artless 
stone  vault,  or  chamber,  or  a  stone  chest,  otherwise  called  a 
Kistvaen,  built  with  more  or  less  care ;  and,  in  other  cases, 
a  grave  cut  out  more  or  less  below  the  natural  surface,  and 
lined,  if  need  be,  with  stone  slabs,  in  which  the  body  was 
placed  in  a  perfect  state,  or  reduced  to  ashes  by  fire*." 

The  "  long "   tumuli  of  Great  Britain  resemble,  in  some 
respects,  the  Scandinavian  ''  Ganggraben,"  and,  like  them, 
in  districts  where  large  blocks  of  stones  occur,  contain  mega- 
hthic  chambers  J  in  which  the  dead  were   buried  and  not 
FiG.142.  burnt.     No  trace  of  metal  has  yet  been 

found  in  this  class  of  tumulus ;  which 
therefore  probably  belongs  to  the  Stone 
Age.  The  skulls  found  in  these  tumuli 
are  very  long  and  narrow  skulls,  which 
have  received  from  Dr.  Wilson  the 
name  of  "  Kumbecephalic,''  or  boat- 
shaped  skulls,  resembling  the  one  in 
fig.  142,  which  was  obtained  by  Mr. 
Bateman  from  the  tumulus  known  as 
^'Longlow,^^  near  Watton,  in  Derby- 
Long  skuii.-Derbyshire.  ^^^^^^  rj^-^  tumulus  Contained  the  re- 
mains of  thirteen  individuals  who  had  been  buried  in  the 
usual  contracted  position.  They  were  contained  in  a  cist 
composed  of  large  stones,  and  were  accompanied  with  several 
worked  flints,  including  three  carefully  made  arrow-heads. 
Long  skulls  are  comparatively  rare  in  the  round  tumuli  of 
England,  while  on  the  contrary,  no  round  skulls  have  yet 
been  met  with  in  the  long  tumuli,  at  any  rate  in  Wiltshire  and 
Gloucestershire  :  so  that  the  evidence  appears  to  support  Dr. 
Thurnam's  aphorism.  Long  barrows,  long  skulls,  round  bar- 
rows, round  skulls  f.  This  conclusion  rests  on  the  measure- 
*  Bateman,  Ten  Years'  Diggings,  f  Mom.  Anthropological  Soc.  vol. 

p.  xL  i.     The  following  facts,  however,  are 


LONG  BARROWS.  137 

ments  of  137  skulls,  70  from  round  barrows  and  67  from 
long  ones,  and  it  must  be  observed  that  these  are  not  selected 
^pscimens,  but  so  far  as  the  long  barrow  skulls  are  concerned, 
comprise  the  whole  number  which  we  possess  in  a  sufficiently 
perfect  condition,  while  as  regards  the  70  from  round  tumuli. 
Dr.  Thurnam  has  taken  the  whole  number  (41)  contained  in 
the  Bateman  collection,  those  described  in  the  Crania  Brit- 
tannica,  and  all  those  in  his  own  collection.  It  is  important  to 
observe,  therefore,  that)  in  neither  case  has  any  selection  been 
made  which  could  influence  the  results.  Now  if  we  class 
those  skulls  in  which  the  relation  of  the  breadth  to  the  length 
is  less  than  73  to  100  as  long  heads  or  Dolichocephalic,  those 
in  which  it  is  from  74-79  to  100  as  medium  heads,  and 
those  in  which  the  proportion  is  80  or  more  than  80  to  100 
as  short  heads,  or  Brachycephalic,  we  shall  have  the  following 
result : — 

Total  number  of    Dolichocephalic     Orthocephalic     Brachycephalic 
skulls.  63-73.  74-79.  80-89. 

Long  barrows        67    ..  55    ...    .     12    ...    .      0 
Round  barrows       70    .    .     0    .    .    .    .     26    ...    .     44 

Thus  there  is  not  a  single  long  head  among  the  70 
specimens  from  round  barrows,  nor  a  single  round  head 
among  the  67  specimens  from  long  barrows.  So  remarkable 
a  distinction  certainly  appears  to  imply  a  difference  of  race, 
and  Dr.  Tliurnam  is  disposed  to  refer  the  Dolichocephalic 
people  to  the  Neolithic  Age,  the  Brachycephalic  to  that  of 
Bronze. 

As  yet,  no  bone  belonging  to  any  of  the  extinct  mammalia 
has  been  found  in  a.  tumulus.  Even  the  reindeer,  so  far  as 
our  present  evidence  goes,  is  entirely  wanting.  Again,  the 
stone  implements,  as  already  mentioned,  are  of  a  character 
very  different  from  those  used  by  Palasolithic  men.     It  is 

mainly  taken  from  his  second  paper       of  which  Dr.  Thurnam  has  been  so 
(iu  the  memoirs  of  the  same  Society),       kind  as  to  forward  me  the  proofs. 


138  OBJECTS    BURIED    WITH    THE    DEAD. 

therefore  not  surprising  to  find  that  the  skulls  which  have 
been  obtained  from  tumuli  attributed  to  the  Stone  Age  indi- 
cate that  Europe  was,  even  at  that  period,  already  inliabited 
by  more  than  one  race  of  men.  On  the  Continent,  as  in 
England,  some  are  brachycephalic,  or  short-headed,  and 
so  far  resemble  those  of  the  Lapps,  while  others  are  doli- 
chocephalic, or  long-headed*  (fig.  142).  Virchowf  has  re- 
cently published  a  memoir  on  the  skulls  obtained  from  Danish 
tumuli,  and  contained  in  the  Copenhagen  Museum.  Omitting 
fragmentary  specimens,  and  those  belonging  to  young  persons, 
he  has  examined  41  skulls  referred  to  the  Stone  Age,  3  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  and  5  to  the  Iron  Age,  and  compared  them  with 
the  specimens  of  Lapp  (6),  Greenland  (5),  and  Finn  (3)  skulls 
contained  in  the  same  collection.  On  the  whole,  these  Stone 
Age  skulls  are  orthocephalic,  inclining  to  brachycephalism; 
the  Bronze  Age  and  Iron  Age  specimens  are  dolichocephalic, 
but  it  must  be  remarked  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  draw 
any  definite  conclusion  from  so  small  a  number  of  specimens; 
and  that  even  if  the  Bronze  Age  indicates  the  immigration  of 
a  new  race  into  AVestern  Europe,  they  would  probably  not 
exterminate  the  earlier  inhabitants,  but  would  at  any  rate 
spare  the  young  women,  so  that,  until  we  have  a  considerable 
body  of  evidence,  it  would  be  very  unsafe  to  speculate  on 
the  character  of  the  population  during  the  Bronze  Age.- 

The  Greenlanders  are  dolichocephalic,  the  Lapps  and 
Finns,  on  the  contrary,  brachycephalic;  but  Virchow* ob- 
serves that  if,  in  this  respect,  the  skulls  of  the  latter  resemble 
the  type  of  the  Danish  Stone  Age,  they  differ  greatly  in 
height  and  breadth,  so  that  no  ethnic  afiinity  can  be  predi- 
cated between  them. 

In  some  cases  the  skulls  obtained  from  one  and  the  same 
tumulus  dificr  from   one   another  very  considerably.     Thus 

*  Nilsson's  Stone  Ago.      English  f  Ar.  fiir  Anthropologie.      1870, 

ed.  p.  121.  p.  55. 


OBJECTS    BURIED    WITH    THE    DEAD.  139 

among  those  found  in  tlie  great  tumulus  at  Borreby,  in 
Denmark,  the  breadth,  taking  the  length  at  100,  varied 
from  71*8  to  85*7,  or  no  less  than  14  per  cent*. 

The  care  with  which  the  dead  were  interred,  and  the 
custom  of  burying  implements  with  them,  have  been  regarded 
by  some  archaeologists  as  proving  the  existence  of  a  belief 
in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  in  a  material  existence 
after  death.  "  That  the  ancient  Briton,"  says  Dr.  Wilson  f, 
"  lived  in  the  belief  of  a  future  state,  and  of  some  doctrine 
of  probation  and  of  final  retribution,  is  apparent  from  the 
constant  deposition  beside  the  dead,  not  only  of  weapons, 
implements,  and  personal  ornaments,  but  also  of  vessels 
which  may  be  presumed  to  have  contained  food  and  drink. 
That  his  ideas  of  a  future  state  were  rude  and  degraded,  is 
abundantly  manifest  from  the  same  evidence." 

But  it  is  very  far  from  being  "  constantly "  the  case, 
that  the  dead  were  so  well  supplied  with  what  we  call  the 
necessaries  of  life  ;  indeed,  it  is  quite  the  exception  and  not 
the  rule, — so  that  if  we  are  to  apply  the  evidence  of  the 
tumuli  in  this  manner,  we  must,  I  think,  come  to  a  con- 
clusion exactly  the  reverse  of  that  stated  by  Dr.  Wilson. 
Thus,  out  of  more  than  250  interments  described  by  Sir  R. 
Colt  Hoarc  in  the  first  volume  of  his  great  work  on  Ancient 
Wiltshire,  only  18  had  any  implements  of  stone,  only  31  of 
bone,  67  of  bronze,  and  11  of  iron;  and  while  pottery  was 
present  in  107,  more  than  60  of  these  contained  only  sepul- 
chral urns,  intended  to  receive  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  and 
certainly  never  meant  to  hold  food.  So  far,  however,  as 
stone  implements  are  concerned,  I  must  confess  that  Sir  R. 
C.  Hoare  appears  to  have  overlooked  the  ruder  instruments 
and  weapons.  I  will,  therefore,  rely  principally  on  the 
evidence  aSbrded  by  the  researches  of  Mr.  Bateman  and 
Mr.  Greenwell. 

*  Busk.     Vogt's  Lectures  on  Man,  p.  384.  f  ^-  c  vol.  i.  p.  498. 


140  TUE    DEAD    WERE    FREQUENTLY    BURIED 

Although  a  large  number  of  the  interments  described  by 
Mr.  Batcman  had  been  already  examined,  there  were  297 
which  had  not  been  previously  disturbed,  and  though  he 
carefully  mentions  even  the  rudest  bit  of  chipped  flint,  no 
less  than  100  of  these  were  without  any  implement  at  all, 
either  of  stone  or  metal,  and  the  drinking-vessels  and  food- 
vases  were  only  about  40  in  number.  Moreover,  lest  it 
should  be  supposed  that  these  ill-provided  interments  were 
those  of  poor  persons  or  enemies,  we  will  leave  all  these  out 
of  consideration.  This  we  can  easily  do.  We  may  be  sure 
that  these  tumuli,  which  must  have  required  much  labour, 
were  only  raised  in  honour  of  the  rich  and  the  great ;  though 
they  may  have  served,  and,  no  doubt,  often  did  serve 
afterwards,  as  burial  places  for  the  poor.  But  it  is  almost 
always  easy  to  distinguish  the  primary  interment ;  for  though 
there  are  some  few  cases  in  which  the  original  occupant  has 
been  ignominiously  ejected  from  his  grave  to  make  room  for 
a  successor,  these  instances  are  rare,  and  can  generally  be 
detected,  while  the  secondary  interments  are  usually  situated 
either  above  the  first,  or  on  the  sides  of  the  tumulus.  The 
same  feeling  which  made  our  ancestors  prefer  to  bury  their 
dead  in  a  pre-existing  tumulus,  generally  prevented  them 
from  desecrating  the  earlier  interments. 

In  the  following  tables,  then,  I  have  recorded  the  primary 
interments  only ;  the  first  column  contains  the  name  of  the 
tumulus,  the  succeeding  nine  indicate  the  disposition  of  the 
corpse,  and  the  articles  found  therewith,  while  the  last  is 
reserved  for  any  special  remarks.  Out  of  139  interments 
examined  by  Mr.  Bateman,  only  105  had  any  implements  or 
weapons,  and  only  35  were  accompanied  by  any  pottery  that 
can  have  held  either  food  or  drink.  Moreover,  if  we  examine 
the  nature  of  the  implements  which  were  deposited  with  the 
dead,  we  shall  find  that  they  are  far  from  representing  com- 
plete sets  of  tools  or  ornaments.     The  rarity  of  bronze  in 


» 


WITHOUT   ANY   ORNAMENTS    OR    IMPLEMENTS.  141 

tombs  is,  perhaps,  not  surprising ;  but  to  men  so  practised  as 
our  predecessors,  it  must  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  make 
a  rude  arrow-head,  or  a,  flint  flake.  Yet  some  of  the  corpses 
are  accompanied  by  but  one  single  arrow-head,  others  by  a 
small  flint  flake  ;  some,  again,  by  a  single  scraper.  It  must 
also  be  observed  that  many  of  the  stone  objects  found  by  Mr. 
Bateman  are  much  ruder  than  might  be  supposed  from  the 
names  he  has  given  them. 


142 


TABULATED   INTERMENTS. 


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150  MODELS    OF    IMPLEMENTS    SOMETIMES    BURIED. 

In  the  table  with  which  Mr.  Grcenwell  has  been  so  good 
as  to  furnish  me,  and  which  shows  the  primary  deposits  in  102 
tumuli  examined  by  him,  it  will  be  observed  that  only  thirty 
contained  any  implement,  the  other  72  being  altogether  bare. 
There  is  not  a  single  case  in  which  the  eorpse  was  deposited 
in  that  extended  position  which  seems  to  us  so  natural. 

Thus,  then,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  intention  of  de- 
positing with  each  corpse  a  complete  set  of  implements.  The 
barrow  on  Cronkstone  Hill,  for  instance,  contained  the 
skeleton  of  a  man,  with  whom  had  been  buried  the  burnt 
bones  of  some  one,  probably  a  slave,  or,  perhaps,  a  wife,  who 
had  been  sacrificed  at  his  grave,  and  yet  the  only  implement 
found  with  him  was  a  '^circular  instrument,"  probably  a 
flint  scraper  or  a  sling-stone.  Again,  the  mound  known  as 
*'Cow  Low"  contained  only  a  bone  pin.  The  affectionate 
relatives  who  heaped  up  this  tumulus  would  certainly  not 
have  sent  their  dead  sister  into  the  new  world  with  nothing 
but  a  bone  pin,  if  they  had  thought  that  the  things  they 
buried  with  her  could  be  of  any  use.  Even  the  great  tumulus 
at  Arbor  Low  contained  only  a  bone  pin,  a  piece  of  iron 
pyrites,  a  kidney-shaped  instrument  of  flint,  and  two  vases. 
It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  illustrations^  and  it  is,  I  think, 
sufficiently  evident  that  the  articles  found  in  the  graves  can- 
not seriously  be  considered  as  affording  any  evidence  of  a 
definite  belief  in  a  future  state  of  existence,  or  as  having 
been  intended  for  the  use  of  the  dead  in  the  new  world 
to  which  they  were  going.  Moreover,  there  is  a  well- 
marked  speciality  in  each  case,  which  seems  to  show  that 
the  presence  of  these  rude  implements,  far  from  being  the 
result  of  a  national  belief,  are  simply  the  touching  evidence 
of  individual  affection. 

In  some  few  cases,  again,  small  models  of  weapons  have 
been  found,  in  lieu  of  the  weapons  themselves.  In  modern 
Esquimaux  graves  small  models  of  kajaks,  spears^  etc.,  are 


I 


BARROWS    BELONQ    TO    VERY    DIFFERENT    PERIODS.  151 

sometimes  buried,  and  a  similar  fact  has  been  observed  in 
Egyptian  tombs.  Mr.  Franks  informs  mo  that  much,  of 
the  jewellery  found  in  Etruscan  tombs  is  so  thin  that  it  can 
scarcely  have  been  intended  for  wear  during  life.  In  Japan 
those  who  are  entitled  to  wear  swords  during  life  have 
wooden  ones  placed  in  their  graves,  as  insignia  of  rank  ;  and 
it  has  long  been  the  custom  in  China  to  burn  paper  cut- 
tings, or  drawings,  of  horses,  money,  etc.,  under,  the  belief 
that  the  objects  so  represented  will  be  actually  possessed  by 
the  deceased*. 

We  must  always  bear  in  mind  that  the  ancient  tumuli  do 
not  all  belong  to  one  period,  nor  to  one  race  of  men.  No 
tumuli  belonging  to  the  Pala3olithic  period  have  yet  been 
discovered,  but  this  mode  of  burial  appears  to  have  existed 
in  Northern  and  Western  Europe  from  the  Neolithic,  or 
second  Stone  period,  down  to  the  introduction  of  Chi'is- 
tianity.  Indeed  it  was  the  examination  of  the  tumuli  wliich 
first  induced  Sir  R.  Colt  Hoare,  and  other  archeeologists,  to 
adopt  for  Northern  Europe  the  division  into  three  great 
periods.  In  Denmark,  especially,  there  was  supposed  to  be 
so  sharp  and  well-marked  a  distinction  between  the  tumuli 
of  the  Stone  Age  and  those  of  the  Bronze  period,  that  the 
use  of  bronze  might  be  considered  as  having  been  introduced 
by  a  new  race  of  men,  who  rapidly  exterminated  the  previous 
inhabitants,  had  entirely  difierent  burial  customs,  and  were 
altogether  in  a  much  higher  state  of  civilization.  It  was 
stated  that  the  tumuli  of  the  Stone  Age  were  generally  sur- 
rounded by  a  circle  of  great  stones,  and  contained  chambers 
formed  of  enormous  blocks  of  stone ;  and  that  the  dead  were 
buried  in  a  contracted  or  sitting  posture,  with  the  knees 
brought  up  under  the  chin,  and  the  arms  folded  across  tho 
breast.  On  the  contrary,  the  burial  places  of  the  Bronzr; 
Ago  were  described  as  having  "  no  circles  of  massive  stones, 
*  See,  for  instance,  l^arco  Polo's  Travels.    Edin.  1846,  pp.  248-260. 


152  DIFFICULTY    OF   DETERMINING    THE    PERIOD 

no  stone  chambers  ;  in  general,  no  large  stones  on  the 
bottom,  with  the  exception  of  stone  cists  placed  together, 
which,  however,  are  easily  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
stone  chambers ;  they  consist,  as  a  general  rule,  of  mere 
earth,  with  heaps  of  small  stones,  and  always  present  them- 
selves to  the  eye  as  mounds  of  earth,  which,  in  a  few  rare 
instances,  are  surrounded  by  a  small  circle  of  stones,  and 
certain  relics  of  bodies  which  have  been  burnt  and  placed  in 
vessels  of  clay,  with  objects  of  metal*." 

Thus,  therefore,  the  barrows  of  the  Age  of  Bronze  appeared 
to  be  distinguished  from  those  of  the  earlier  period,  not  only 
by  the  important  fact  that,  "  instead  of  the  simple  and  uni- 
form implements  and  ornaments  of  stone,  bone,  and  amber, 
we  meet,  suddenly,  with  a  number  and  variety  of  splendid 
weapons,  implements,  and  jewels  of  bronze,  and  sometimes, 
indeed,  with  jewels  of  goldfj"  but,  also,  because  the  con- 
struction of  the  tumuli  themselves  was  diflferent  in  the  two 
periods ;  and  the  corpse  which,  in  the  Stone  Age,  was  always 
buried  in  a  contracted  posture,  was  in  the  Bronze  Age  always 
burnt.  Subsequent  investigations,  however,  have  furnished 
the  Danish  antiquaries  rather  with  exceptions  to,  than  con- 
firmations of,  this  generalization  ;  and,  on  the  whole,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  (though  the  passage-graves  and  long  barrows 
seem  always  to  belong  to  the  Stone  Age)  we  are  not  acquainted 
with  any  external  differences  by  which  the  tumuli  of  the 
Stone,  Bronze,  and  Iron  Ages  can,  with  certainty,  be  dis- 
tinguished from  one  another.  The  contents  of  the  graves 
are,  however,  more  instructive.  Eventually,  no  doubt,  the 
human  remains  themselves,  an'd  especially  the  skulls,  will 
prove  our  best  guides ;  but,  at  present,  we  do  not  possess  a 
sufficient  number  of  trustworthy  descriptions  or  measure- 
ments, to  justify  us  in  drawing  any  generalization  from  them, 
*  Worsaae's  Primeval  Antiquities,  p.  93.  f  Ibid.  p.  24. 


TO   WHICH   A  TUMULUS   BELONGS.  153 

excepting,  perhaps,  this,  that  the  skulls  found  with  bronze  in 
some  cases  closely  resemble  those  discovered  in  graves  con, 
taining  only  stone  implements;  from  which  we  may  infe; 
that,  even  if  the  use  of  bronze  was  introduced  by  a  new  and 
more  civilized  race,  the  ancient  inhabitants  were  not  alto- 
gether exterminated.  The  pottery  does  not  at  present  help 
us  much  J  that  found  in  company  with  bronze  is  often  coarse, 
ill-burnt,  hand-made,  and,  in  form,  ornamentation,  and  mate- 
rial, closely  agrees  with  that  which  occurs  in  graves  containing 
stone  implements  only.  We  too  often  see  that  tumuli  are 
referred  to  the  Stone  Age  because  they  contain  one  or  two 
implements  made  of  that  material.  This,  however,  is  a  very 
unsafe  deduction.  We  know  that  stone  was  extensively  used 
throughout  the  Bronze  Age;  and,  indeed,  out  of  37  tumuli 
in  which  Mr.  Bateman  found  objects  of  bronze,  no  less  than 
29  contained  also  stone  implements,  many  of  which  were 
extremely  rude. 

There  are  also  cases  in  which  it  is  evident  that  flint  imple- 
ments were  deposited  in  graves  rather  in  deference  to  ancient 
customs,  than  because  they  were  still  in  every  day  use.  Thus 
in  the  tumulus  known  as  Kouloba,  or  "  Hill  of  Cinders," 
near  Kertch,  a  heap  of  sharp  flints  was  found.  This  tumulus 
was  of  considerable  size,  and  contained  the  remains  of  a  chief, 
his  wife,  servant,  and  horse.  He  wore  a  cap  ornamented 
with  plates  of  gold,  a  gold  enamelled  necklace,  and  gold 
bracelets.  His  sword  was  of  iron,  the  handle  covered  with 
leaves  of  gold  embossed  with  figures  of  hares  and  foxes.  His 
shield  was  also  of  gold,  covered  with  heads  of  Medusa,  etc. 
An  electrum  plate,  which  had  formed  part  of  a  quiver,  was 
also  ornamented  with  figures  of  animals,  such  as  a  tiger  seizing 
a  goat,  and  a  deer  attacked  by  a  grifiin.  Above  the  tail  of 
the  tiger  was  written  'rropva-)(o.  Statuettes,  bronze  cauldrons, 
and  many  other  things  were  deposited  around. 


154 


TABULATED    INTERMENTS. 


The  queen  was  also  richly  ornamented.  The  tumulus  con- 
tained also  a  diadem  of  gold,  a  necklace  of  gold  filagree,  to 
which  were  suspended  small  bottles  of  fine  gold  ;  medallions 
of  green  and  blue  enamel  j  a  magnificent  vase  in  electrum  ; 
two  gold  bracelets ;  and  six  knives  with  ivory  handles,  besides 
many  other  gold  ornaments.  Many  of  these  objects  were 
ornamented  with  beautiful  figures  of  animals.  A  mitre,  for 
instance,  had  a  plate  of  electrum,  on  which  were  represented 
four  women  in  Greek  costume,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  gar- 
lands of  lotuses,  the  stalks  of  which  served  as  seats  and 
backs.  The  plate  was  attached  to  the  mitre  by  four  masks 
of  lions,  and  the  bottom  of  the  mitre  was  bordered  by  a 
diadem  of  gold,  adorned  by  small  enamelled  rosettes.  In  the 
same  tumulus,  under  this  tomb,  was  a  second  still  richer  one, 
from  which  no  less  than  120  pounds  weight  of  gold  jewellery 
are  said  to  have  been  taken. 

In  such  a  tumulus  as  this,  flint  flakes  could  evidently  have 
but  a  symbolical  meaning  *. 

Evidently,  therefore,  the  mere  presence  of  a  few  imple- 
ments of  stone  is  in  itself  no  sufficient  reason  for  referring 
any  given  interment  to  the  Stone  Age.  The  following  tabu- 
lar statement  of  297  interments,  recorded  by  Mr.  Bateman, 
will,  however,  I  think,  be  found  interesting : — 


Implements. 

CORPSE. 

Total. 

Contracted. 

Burnt. 

63 

48 

10 

3 

Extended. 

Position 
Uncertain. 

None '. 

27 

53 

15 

2 

3 

2 

5 

14 

7 
31 

7 
7 

100 

134 

37 

26 

Stone 

Bronze 

Iron 

Total 

97 

124 

24 

52 

297 

These   interments  are  all  from   the   counties   of  Derby, 
*  Journal  of  the  British  Archaeological  Association,  vol.  xiii. 


STATISTICS. 


ll 


Stafford^  and  York.  In  his  work  on  ancient  Wiltshire,  Sir 
R.  C.  Hoare  records  the  examination  of  2G7  interments, 
which  may  be  tabulated  in  a  similar  manner  as  follows : — 


Implements. 

CORPSE. 

Total. 

Contracted. 

Burnt. 

Extended. 

Position 
Uncertain. 

None 

9 
2 

4 

160 

5 

49 

3 
1 

2 

7 

12 
1 

8 
4 

184 

9 

63 

11 

Stone 

Bronze 

Iron 

Total 

15 

214 

13 

25 

267 

We  see  that  in  this  latter  table  nearly  all  the  cases  of 
bronze  were  in  interments  preceded  by  cremation,  but  in  the 
northern  interments  the  reverse  is  the  case  ;  and,  as  resrards 
Wiltshire,  if  we  are  to  regard  cremation  as  a  test  of  the 
Bronze  Age,  we  must  refer  almost  the  whole  of  these  inter- 
ments to  that  period.  I  confess  that  I  am  somewhat  inclined 
to  do  so.  No  less  than  270  tumuli  cluster  round  Stonehensre. 
and  it  seems  most  probable  that  the  dead  were  brought  from 
a  distance  to  lie  near  the  great  temple.  In  this  case  the 
great  majority  of  the  tumuli  belong,  therefore,  to  one  period, 
that,  namely,  at  which  the  temple  was  held  sacred.  Some 
few,  indeed,  may  be  referable  to  earlier  or  later  times,  but  as 
out  of  1 52  of  these  interments  which  were  examined  by  Sir 
R.  C.  Hoare,  no  less  than  39  contained  objects  of  bronze,  I 
am  disposed  to  regard  the  whole  group  as  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  period.  Now  in  these  152  cases  the  corpse  was  con- 
tracted in  four  only,  and  extended  in  three.  In  16  the  dispo- 
sition of  the  corpse  was  not  ascertained,  and  in  no  less  than 
129  it  had  been  burnt. 

If  we  combine  the  observations  of  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  and 
Mr.  Bateman,  we  shall  obtain  the  following  table : — 


156 


DIFFICULTY    OF   DETERMINING   THE    PERIOD 


Implements. 

CORPSE. 

Total. 

Contracted. 

Burnt. 

Extended. 

Position 
Uncertain. 

None 

36 

55 

19 

2 

223 

53 

59 

3 

6 
3 

7 
21 

19 
32 
15 
11 

284 

143 

100 

37 

Stone 

Bronze 

Total 

112 

338 

37 

77 

564 

Some  of  these  interments  were  no  doubt  Anglo-Saxon  ; 
if  these  had  been  eliminated  the  argument  would  have 
appeared  still  stronger,  but  taking  them  as  they  are,  out  of 
37  graves  containing  iron  weapons  or  implements,  the  corpse 
was  certainly  extended  in  21  cases,  and,  probably  so,  in 
several  others;  while,  out  of  no  less  than  527  cases  in  which 
iron  was  not  present,  the  corpse  was  extended  only  in  16, 
the  proportion  being  at  least  -j^ths  in  one  case,  and  only 
■gJjrd  in  the  other.  On  the  whole  we  may  certainly  conclude 
that  this  mode  of  burial  was  introduced  at  about  the  same 
period  as  the  use  of  iron. 

As  regards  the  habit  of  burning  the  dead,  the  evidence  is 
less  conclusive.  Out  of  100  cases,  indeed,  of  graves  charac- 
terized by  the  presence  of  bronze,  the  corpse  appears  to  have 
been  buried,  in  a  contracted  posture,  19  times  only;  in  an 
extended  position,  only  seven  times.  It  is  evident,  there- 
fore, that  during  the  Bronze  Age,  the  dead  were  generally 
burnt.  It  is  true  that  there  are  many  cases  in  which 
interments  by  cremation,  if  I  may  use  such  an  expression, 
contain  no  weapons  or  objects  of  bronze.  We  know,  how- 
ever, that  this  metal  must  always  have  been  expensive,  and 
it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  many,  if  not  most,  of 
these  interments  may  belong  to  the  Bronze  Age,  although 
no  objects  of  metal  occurred  in  them. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  Neolithic  Stone  Age 
it  was  usual  to  bury  the  corpse  in  a  sitting  or  contracted 


TO    WHICH    A    TUMULUS   BELONGS.  157 

posture ;  and,  in  short,  it  appears  probable,  althougli  far 
from  being  satisfactorily  established,  that  in  Western  Europe 
this  attitude  is  characteristic  of  the  Stone  Age,  cremation  of 
that  of  bronze ;  while  those  cases  in  which  the  skeleton  was 
extended  may  be  referred,  with  little  hesitation,  to  the  Age 
of  Iron.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
evidence  is  very  far  from  conclusive ;  and  we  must  remember 
that  in  Anglo-Saxon  times  the  dead  were  burned  by  some 
tribes,  and  buried  by  others. 

But  although  the  presence  of  a  few  flint  flakes,  or  other  stone 
implements,  is  certainly  no  sufficient  reason  for  referring  any 
given  tumulus  to  the  Stone  Age,  the  case  is  dificrent  where 
a  large  number  of  objects  have  been  found  together;  for 
instance,  I  have  in  my  collection  a  group  of  stone  implements 
consisting  of  14  beautifully  made  axes,  wedges,  chisels, 
spear-heads,  etc.,  and  more  than  60  capital  flakes,  which 
were  all  found  together  in  one  of  the  large  Danish  sepul- 
chral chambers,  on  the  island  of  Moen*,  and  have  been 
described  by  M.  Boye.  The  tumulus  had  a  circumference  of 
140  ells,  and  a  height  of  about  eight  ells.  It  is  probable  that 
it  had  been  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  stones,  for  M.  Jensen, 
the  owner,  remembered  that,  many  years  before,  the  northern 
side  had  been  surrounded  by  a  row  of  stones  standing  close 
together.  None  of  them,  however,  at  present  remain.  Un- 
fortunately M.  Boye  was  not  present  when  they  began  to 
remove  the  tumulus ;  still  he  thinks  that  the  account  given 
to  him  may  be  relied  on  with  safety.  M.  Jensen  began  to 
dig  on  the  east  side  of  the  Low,  and  the  first  thing  which  ho 
came  to  was  a  jar,  which  he  unfortunately  broke.  It  con- 
tained burnt  bones  and  a  bronze  pin,  the  head  of  which  was 
ornamented  with  concentric  lines.  Towards  the  S.S.E.  was 
found  a  cist,  about  an  ell  long,  and  formed  of  flat  stones. 
In  it  were  burnt  bones,  a  bent  knife,  and  a  pair  of  pincers 

*  Annalcr  for  Nordisk  Oldkyndighed  og  Historic,  1858,  p.  202. 


158 


DANISH    TUMULUS 


two  inches  ia  length;  both  these  objects  were  of  bronze. 
Not  far  from  this  cist  was  another  urn,  containing  burnt 
bones,  with  several  objects  of  bronze,  namely,  a  knife  four 
inches  in  length,  part  of  a  small  symbolical  sword,  and  two 
fragments  of  an  awl.  It  is  evident  that  these  three  inter- 
ments belonged  to  the  Bronze  Age,  and  also  that  they  were 
secondary,  that  is  to  say,  that  they  belonged  to  a  later 
date  than  the  original  sepulchral  chamber,  over  which  the 
tumulus  had  been  made. 

Fig.  H3. 


V    ^/J 


Plan  of  the  Chamber  in  a  Danish  Tumulus  in  Miien. 

The  sepulchral  chamber  itself  (fig.  143)  lay  north  and 
south,  was  of  an  oval  form,  about  eight  and  a  half  ells  in 
length,  and  twenty  and  a  half  in  circumference,  and  about 
two  and  a  half  in  height.  The  walls  consisted  of  twelve 
very  large,  unhewn  stones,  which,  however,  did  not  in  most 
cases  touch  one  another,  but  left  intervals  which  were  filled 
up  by  smaller  stones.  The  roof  was  formed  by  five  great 
blocks,  the  spaces  between  them  being  filled  up  by  smaller 
ones.     The  passage,  which  was  on  the  east  side,  was  five  ells 


IN   THE    ISLAND   OF    MOEN. 


159 


long  and  one  ell  broadj  and  was  formed  by  eleven  side  stones 
and  three  roof  stones.  At  the  place  (a)  was,  on  each  side,  a 
smaller  stone,  which,  in  conjunction  with  another  on  the 
floor  between  them,  formed  a  sort  of  threshold,  probably 
indicating  the  place  where  the  door  stood.  Similar  traces 
of  a  doorway  have  been  found  in  other  Danish  tumuli,  and 
may,  perhaps,  be  taken  as  evidence  that  the  mounds  had 
been  used  previously  as  houses;  at  the  time  of  the  inter- 
ment the  construction  of  a  door  would  have  been  simply 
purposeless,  the  passage  leading  to  it  being  filled  up  with 
rubbish.     The  chamber  was  filled  up  with  mould  to  within 

Fig.  141.  Fio.  145. 


Skull  from  a  Danish  Tumulus  at  Moen. 

half  an  ell  of  the  roof.  About  the  middle,  not  far  from 
the  bottom,  a  skeleton  was  extended  (at  h),  with  the  head 
towards  the  north.  On  the  south  side  (at  c  and  d)  occurred 
two  crania,  each  of  which  lay  on  a  quantity  of  bones,  indi- 
cating that  the  corpses  had  been  buried  in  a  sitting  posture. 
At  (e)  was  a  similar  skeleton,  close  to  which  were  three 
amber  beads,  a  beautiful  flint  axe,  which  did  not  seem  to 
have  been  ever  used,  a  small  unfinished  chisel,  and  some  frag- 
ments of  pottery,  ornamented  with  points  and  lines.  At  (/) 
was  another  skeleton,  in  a  similar  position,  with  a  flint  flake, 
an  amber  bead,  and  some  fragments  of  pottery.     Figs.  144, 


160 


DANISH    CHAMBERED    TUMULUS. 


145,  represent  one  of  the  skulls  from  ttis  stone  chamber. 
Several  other  skeletons  were  found  sitting  round  the  side 
walls,  but  they  had  unluckily  been  removed  and  thrown 
away  before  the  arrival  of  M.  Boye.  With  them  were  at 
least  20  different  jars  or  urns,  aU  of  them  inverted,  and 
prettily  decorated  with  points  and  lines. 


Fig.  146. 


View  in  the  Chamber  looking  through  the  entrance. 

Besides  these  objects,  the  earth  in  the  chamber  contained 
five  flint  spear-heads,  a  fragment  of  a  flint  spear  which  had 
been  broken  and  worked  up  again,  two  small  flint  chisels, 
53  flint  flakes,  varying  from  three  to  five  and  a  half  inches  in 
length;  19  perfect,  and  31  broken,  amber  beads,  of  which 


DESCRIPTION    OF   A    BARROW   AT   WEST    KENNET. 


161 


the  greater  number  were  hammer-like,  the  rest  tubular  or 
ring-shaped.  The  passage  was  filled  up  by  earth,  mixed 
with  fragments  of  pottery,  and  small  stones.  About  the 
middle  was  a  skeleton,  with  the  head  towards  the  east,  at 
the  side  of  which  were  five  flakes  and  an  amber  bead.  Close 
to  the  feet  was  a  jar,  unornamented,  and  much  ruder  than 
those  found  in  the  chamber  itself.  2Jot  the  smallest  fragment 
of  metal  was  found  either  in  the  chamber  or  in  the  passage. 

Fio-  147.  Fig.  148.  Fig.  H9. 


Fig.  150. 


Flint  Implements  from  the  Tumulus  at  West  Kennet. 

Again,  as  a  second  case  of  the  same  sort,  I  may  mention 
the  Long  Barrow  (fig.  MO)  near  West  Kennet,  in  Wiltshire, 
described  by  Dr.  Thurnam*.  The  tumulus  in  this  case  is 
336  feet  in  length,  40  feet  wide  at  the  west  end,  and  75  feet 
at  the  east,  with  a  height  of  eight  feet.  The  walls  of  the 
*  Arcliajologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 
13 


162 


POTTERY    FROM    THE   WEST   KENNET   TUMULUS. 


chamber  are  formed  by  six  great  blocks  of  stone,  and  it 
opens  into  a  passage,  so  that  the  ground  plan  very  closely 
resembles  that  of  the  tumulus  just  described,  and,  in  fact,  of 


Fig.  152. 


Pottery  from  the  Tumulus  at  West  Kennet. 

the  '^Passage  graves"  generally.  The  chamber  and  en- 
trance were  nearly  filled  with  chalk  rubble,  containing  also 
bones  of  animals,  flint  implements  (figs.  147-150),  and 
fragments  of  pottery.     In  the  chamber  were  four  skeletons. 


BRETON    TUMULI. 


163 


two  of  which  appear  to  have  been  buried  in  a  sitting  posture.. 
In  different  parts  of  the  chamber  were  found  nearly  300 
flakes,  three  or  four  flint  cores,  a  whetstone,  a  scraper,  part 
of  a  bone  pin,  a  bead  of  Kimmeridge  shale,  and  several 
heaps  of  fragments  of  pottery  (figs.  151-156)  belonging 
apparently  to  no  less  than  50  different  vessels,  and  all  made 
by  hand,  with  one  doubtful  exception.  No  trace  of  metal 
was  discovered.  The  two  pieces  (figs.  155,  156)  were  found 
apart  from  the  rest,  and  may,  perhaps,  be  of  later  origin. 


Fig.  15G. 


Pottery  from  the  Tumulus  at  West  Kennet. 

The  largo  tumuli  of  Brittany,  most  of  which  have  recently 
been  opened,  have  afforded  several  other  instances  of  the 
same  kind.  Thus  the  great  Mont  St.  Michel,  at  Carnac, 
which  is  no  less  than  380  feet  in  length,  and  190  feet  broad, 
with  an  average  height  of  33  feet,  was  found  to  contain  a 
square  chamber,  in  which  were  eleven  beautiful  jade  celts, 
two  large  rough  celts,  and  twenty-six  small  fibrolite  celts, 
besides  110  stone  beads  and  stone  fragments  of  flint*.  Again, 
the  chamber  in  the  tumulus  called  Manne-er-H'roek  contained 
a  hundred  and  three  stone  axes,  three  flint  flakes,  and  fifty 


*  Rapport  ^  M.  Le  Prcfet  du  Mor- 
bihan  sur  les  fouilles   du    Mont  St. 


Michel.    Par  M.  Bene  Galles.    1862. 


164  BRETON    TUMULI. 

beads  of  jasper,  quartz,  and  agate,  but  neitlier  of  these  great 
tumuli  contained  a  trace  of  metal*. 

Other  similar  cases  might  be  mentionedf,  in  which  tumuli 
of  large  size,  covering  a  sepulchral  chamber,  constructed  with 
great  labour,  and  evidently  intended  for  a  person,  or  persons, 
of  high  rank,  have  contained  numerous  objects  of  stone  and 
pottery,  without  a  trace  of  metal. 

It  appears  reasonable  to  conclude  that  these  interments 
belong  to  the  ante-metallic  period;  especially  when,  as  in  the 
first-mentioned  case,  we  find  several  secondary  interments, 
plainly  belonging  ,to  a  later  age,  and  although  presenting 
no  such  indications  of  high  rank,  still  accompanied  by  objects 
of  bronze. 

It  may  seem  at  first  sight  very  improbable  that  works  so 
considerable  should  have  been  undertaken  and  carried  out 
by  nations  entirely  ignorant  of  metal.  The  burial  mound  of 
Oberea,  in  Otaheiti,  was  nevertheless  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  feet  long,  eighty-seven  wide,  and  forty-four  in  height. 
And  in  treating  of  modern  savages,  I  shall  hereafter  have 
occasion  to  notice  other  instances  quite  as  extraordinary. 

The  practice  of  burying  in  old  tumuli,  which  continued 
even  do"^Ti  to  the  times  of  Charlemagne  J,  has  led  to  some 
confusion,  because  objects  of  very  different  date  ai'C  thus 
liable  to  be  described  as  coming  from  one  grave ;  yet,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  very  instructive,  as  there  are  several  cases 
on  record,  besides  the  one  above  mentioned,  of  interments 
characterized  by  bronze  being  found  above,  and  being,  there- 
fore, evidently  subsequent  to  others,  accompanied  by  stone 
only  §. 

*  Manne-er-H'roeck.  Rapport  a  la  tianorum    Saxonorum   ad   cemeteria 

Societe  Polymathique.     Par  M.  Le-  ecclesia3  dcferantur,  et  non  ad  tumu- 

febvre  et  M.  Rene  Galles.     1863.  los  paganorum." 

t  See,  for  instance,  Lukis,  Axchaa-  §  See,   for  instance,  Yon  Sacken 

olofia,  vol.  XXXV.  p.  247.  Leitfaden  zur  Kunde  des  heidnischen 

X  One  of  his  regulations  ran  as  fol-  Alterthumes,  p.  15. 
lows: — "  Jubcmus  ut  corpora  Chris- 


SEPULCHRAL   POTTERY. 


165 


On  the  whole,  however,  though  it  is  evident  that  the 
objects  most  frequently  buried  with  the  dead  would  be  those 
most  generally  used  by  the  living,  and  though  the  prevalence 
of  stone  implements  proves  the  important  part  played  by 
stone  in  ancient  times,  and  goes  far  to  justify  the  belief  in  a 
Stone  Age;  still,  the  evidence  to  be  brought  forward  on  this 
point  in  the  following  chapters  will,  probably,  to  many  minds 
seem  more  satisfactory;  and,  at  any  rate,  we  must  admit  that, 
in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  there  are  comparatively 
few  interments  which  we  could,  with  confidence,  refer  to  the 
Neolithic  Stone  Age,  however  firmly  we  may  believe  that  a 
great  many  of  them  must  belong  to  it. 

Mr.  Bateman  has  proposed  to  range  the  pottery  found  in 
ancient  British  tumuli  under  four  different  heads,  namely, 
1.  Urns;  2.  Incense  Cups;  3.  Food  Vases;  4.  Drinking 
Cups.     Tlie  urns  generally  ac- '  fig.  is?. 

company  interments  by  crema- 
tion, and  have  either  contained 
or  been  inverted  over  burnt 
human  bones.  They  are  gen ' 
rally  of  large  size,  "fi-om  tt;. 
to  sixteen  inches  high,  with  a 
deep  border,  more  or  less  deco- 
rated by  impressions  of  twisted 
thongs,  and  incised  patterns  in 
which  the  chevron  or  herrinsr- 
bone  constantly  recurs  in  va- 
rious combinations,  occasion- 
ally relieved  by  circular  punc- 
tures, or  assuming  a  reticulated 
appearance 

potter's-wheel  being  ever  found  on  them.  They  almost  inva- 
riably have  an  overhanging  rim.  The  material  of  which  they 
are  formed  is  clay  mixed  with  pebbles,  and  some  of  them 


/^^/// 


Sepulchral  Um. 

They  are  all  made  by  hand,  no  trace  of  the 


166 


URNS.      FOOD   VASES. 


INCENSE    CUPS. 


have  been  described  as  "  sun-dried.^'  This,  however,  appears 
to  be  altogether  a  mistake,  arising  from  the  imperfect  manner 
in  which  they  were  burnt.  In  colour  they  are  generally 
brown  or  burnt  umber  outside  and  black  inside.  Fig.  157 
represents  a  specimen  from  Flaxdale  Barrow,  in  Derbyshire. 


Fig. 159. 


Fig.  160. 


Vessels  from  a  Tumulus  at  Arbor  Low. 

Secondly,  the  "incense  cups,"  so  called  by  Sir  R.  Colt 
Hoare.  They  differ  very  much  in  shape,  and  are  seldom 
more  than  three  inches  high.    When  decorated,  the  patterns 

are  the  same  as  those  on  the 
urns,  and  are  usually  on  the 
under  surface,  but  they  are  often 
left  plain.  They  are  often 
pierced,  and  it  is  possible  that 
some  of  them  were  used  for 
lamps,  as  was,  I  believe,  first 
suggested  by  Mr.  Birch.  "  The 
third  division  includes  vessels  of 
every  style  of  ornament,  from 
the  rudest  to  the  most  elabo- 
rate, but  nearly  alike  in  size, 
and  more  difficult  to  assign  to 
a  determinate  period  than,  any 
other,  from  the  fact  of  a  coarse 
Drinking  Cup.  and  a  well-finished  one  having 

several  times  been  found  in  company."    The  above  woodcuts 


DRINKING    curs.  167 

(figs,  158^  159)  represent  two  vessels  found  in  a  barrow  on 
the  circle  at  Arbor  Low,  in  Derbyshire. 

Fourthly,  "The  drinkiug-cups  (fig.  160)  are  generally  from 
six  and  a  half  to  nine  inches  high,  of  a  tall  shape,  contracted 
in  the  middle,  globular  below,  and  expanding  a*  the  mouth : 
they  are  carefully  formed  by  hand,  of  fine  clay,  tempered 
with  sharp  sand,  and  well-baked;  the  walls  are  thin,  aver- 
aging about  three-eighths  of  an  inch,  light  brown  outside 
and  grey  within."  They  are  generally  much  ornamented, 
and  usually  accompany  well-made  flint  implements ;  but  in 
some  cases  bronze  awls  have  been  found  with  them.  Mr. 
Bateman  considers  that  the  greater  number  belong  to  the 
ante-metallic  period. 

Numerous  as  are  the  varieties  of  pottery  found  in  ante- 
Roman  tumuli,  they  appear  (so  far,  at  any  rate,  as  those 
discovered  by  Mr.  Bateman  are  concerned)  to  have  been 
all  made  by  hand,  without  any  assistance  from  the  potter's 
wheel;  they  are  formed  of  clay  tempered  with  sand,  and 
often  with  pebbles;  they  very  rarely  have  handles,  and 
spouts  seem  to  have  been  unknown;  the  ornaments  consist 
of  straight  lines,  dots,  or  marks,  as  if  a  cord  had  been  im- 
pressed on  the  soft  clay;  circular  or  curved  lines  are  rare,  nor 
is  there  the  slightest  attempt  to  copy  any  animal  or  plant. 

As  a  general  rule  the  megaHthic  monuments  are  constructed 
of  rough  stones  neither  hewn  nor  ornamented.  Lately,  how- 
ever, many  instances  of  engravings  have  been  observed.  In 
the  north  of  England  and  in  Scotland  these  generally  take 
the  form  of  cups,  spirals,  circles  with  a  dot  in  the  middle,  or 
incomplete  circles  with  a  dot  in  the  middle,  or  incomplete 
circles  with  a  line  running  from  the  centre  through  the 
interval,  as  in  fig.  161*.     We  have  as  yet  no , satisfactory 

*  See  Tate  on  the  scnlptured  rocks  Cups  and  Concentric  Rings,  etc.  Proc. 
of  Northumberland,  1865.  Sir  J.  Y.  S.  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  vol.  vi. 
Simpson,  on  Ancient  Scolptorings  of       1867.     The  monuments  described  by 


168 


ROCK    SCULPTURES. 


clue  to  the  mciining  of  these  engravings,  many  of  which  have 
been  figured  by  Mr.  Tate  and  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson.  They  occur 
in  evident  association  with  ancient  oppida  and  fortifications,  ' 
as  well  as  on  menhirs,  and  on  the  stones  composing  dolmens 
and  cromlcAs.  Fig.  161  represents  a  characteristic  group 
on  the  rocks  of  Auchnabreach  in  Argyllshire.  The  surface  of 
the  rock  is  well  adapted  to  receive  such  sculpturings,  having 
been  smoothed  and  prepared  by  glacial  action. 


Fig.  161. 


Rock  Sculptures. — Scotland. 

Similar  sculpturings  have  been  found  in  Ireland,  where 
also  the  great  tumuli  on  the  Boyne  afford  instances  of  more 
elaborate  ornamentation.  The  great  stone  at  the  entrance 
of  New  Grange,  for  instance,  is  covered  with  double  spirals, 

Mr.  Stuart,  in  his  great  work  on  tho  work.     For  rock  carvings  in  Spain 

Sculptured  Stones  of  Scotland,  belong  see  Don  M.  de  Gongora  y  Martinez, 

to  a  much  later  period,  and  scarcely  .   Antiguedades  Prehistoricas  de  Anda- 

fall  within  the  scope  of  tho  present  lucia. 


BONES    OF  ANIMALS    IN*  TUMULI.  169 

and  those  forming  the  central  chamber  arc  also  covered 
with  circles,  spirals,  and  other  patterns,  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  being  that  of  a  so-called  fern  leaf,  which  occurs 
also  in  Brittany  and  in  the  so-called  temple  of  Hagar  Kem, 
in  Malta. 

Mr.  Con  well  has  recently  discovered  an  extensive  series  of 
interesting  sepulchral  sculptures  in  the  county  of  Meath. 

With  the  exception  of  the  ''fern  leaf,"  all  these  archaic 
sculpturings  in  Great  Britain  are  mere  geometrical  fio-ures. 
The  same  figures  also  occur  in  Brittany,  accompanied,  how- 
ever, by  frequent  representations  of  stone  axes,  both  with 
and  without  handles. 

The  rock  sculptures  of  Scandinavia  present  a  still  further 
advance,  many  of  them  being  rude  representations  of  boats, 
much  like  those  on  some  of  the  bronze  knives  (figs.  42-45). 
The  most  remarkable  monument  of  this  kind,  however,  is 
that  of  Kivik  in  Scania,  close  to  the  shore  of  the  Baltic. 

The  remains  of  other  mammals  found  with  ancient  human 
relics  have  acquired  increased  interest,  since  the  admirable 
researches  of  the  Danish  and  Swiss  zoologico-archgeologists, 
and  especially  of  Steenstrup  and  Riitimeyer,  by  whose  skilful 
cross-examination  much  valuable  and  unexpected  evidence 
has  been  elicited,  from  materials  of  most  unpromising 
appearance.  Unfortunately  the  non-human  remains  found  in 
tumuli  are  usually  in  a  very  fragmentary  condition,  and  have 
received  little  attention  from  archaeologists.  No  remains  of 
any  extinct  animal  have  ever  been  found  in  the  tumuli  of 
Western  Europe.  Even  the  reindeer  is  altogether  absent.  The 
doer  and  ox  are  most  frequent.  The  latter  was  certainly 
domesticated  in  Switzerland  as  early  as  the  Neolithic  period. 
Whether  this  was  the  case  in  Northern  Europe  is  still  uncer- 
tain. Some  archajologists  believe  the  dog  to  have  been  at 
that  period  the  only  animal  domesticated;  others,  on  the  con- 
trary, consider  the  cow,  sheep,  pig,  and  goat,  if  not  the  horse, 
to  have  been  at  that  early  period  domesticated  in  the  North. 


170  SEPULCHRAL   FEASTS.       SACRIFICES. 

In  the  contents  of  British  barrows,  bones  of  these  animals 
have  been  frequently  observed ;  but  it  is  not  as  yet  deter- 
mined whether  they  belong  to  wild  or  tame  individuals. 

As  far,  however,  as  the  horse  is  concerned,  we  may  pro- 
bably assume  that  all  the  remains  belong  to  a  domesticated 
race,  for  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  wild  horses 
existed  in  Great  Britain  at  a  period  so  recent.  I  have 
thought,  therefore,  that  it  might  be  of  interest  to  point  out 
the  class  of  graves  in  which  bones  or  teeth  of  horses  were 
found.  In  Mr.  Bateman's  valuable  works  there  are,  alto- 
gether, twenty-eight  cases  ;  but  of  these,  nine  were  in  tumuli 
which  had  been  previously  opened,  and  in  one  case  no  body 
was  found.  Of  the  remaining  eighteen,  five  were  tumuli 
containing  iron,  and  seven  were  accompanied  with  bronze. 
In  one  more  case,  that  of  the  "  Liffs,"  it  is  doubtful  whether 
the  barrow  had  not  been  disturbed.  Of  the  remaining  six 
tumuli,  two  contained  beautiful  drinking  vessels,  of  a  very 
well  marked  type,  certainly  in  use  during  the  Bronze  Age, 
if  not  peculiar  to  it ;  and  in  both  these  instances,  as  well  as 
in  a  third,  the  interment  was  accompanied  by  burnt  human 
bones,  suggestive  of  dreadful  rites.  Even,  however,  if  these 
cases  cannot  be  referred  to  the  Bronze  Age,  we  still  see  that 
out  of  the  two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  interments  only 
sixt^^-three  contained  metal,  or  about  twenty-one  per  cent., 
while  out  of  the  eighteen  cases  of  horses'  remains  twelve,  or 
about  sixty-six  per  cent.,  certainly  belong  to  the  metallic 
period.  This  seems  to  be  prima  facie  evidence  that  the 
horse  was  very  rare,  if  not  altogether  unknown  in  England 
during  the  Stone  Age.  Both  the  horse  and  bull  appear  to 
have  been  sacrificed  at  graves  during  later  times,  and  pro- 
bably formed  part  of  the  funeral  feast.  The  teeth  of  oxen  are  so 
common  in  tumuli,  that  they  are  even  said  by  Mr.  Bateman  to 
be  "uniformly  found  with  the  more  ancient  interments." 

The  very  frequent  presence  of  the  bones  of  quadrupeds  in 


PEE-HISTORIC   EACES   OP   MEN.  171 

tumuli  appears  to  show  that  sepulchral  feasts  -were  generally 
held  in  honour  of  the  dead,  and  the  numerous  cases  in  which 
iuternjents  were  accompanied  by  burnt  human  bones  tend 
to  prove  the  prevalence  of  still  more  dreadful  customs,  and 
that  not  only  horses*  and  dogs,  but  slaves  also,  were  fre- 
quently sacrificed  at  their  masters^  graves ;  it  is  not  impro- 
bable that  mves  often  were  burnt  with  their  husbands,  as 
in  India,  and  among  many  savage  tribes.  For  instance, 
among  the  Fecgees  it  is  usual  on  the  death  of  a  chief  to 
sacrifice  a  certain  number  of  slaves,  whose  bodies  "  are  called 
'  grass '  for  bedding  "  the  grave  f.  "  It  is  probable,^'  says 
Mr.  Bateman,  "  that  the  critical  examination  of  all  deposits 
of  burnt  bones  would  lead  to  much  curious  information 
respecting  the  statistics  of  suttee  and  infanticide,  both  which 
abominations  we  are  unwilhngly  compelled,  by  accumulated 
evidence,  to  believe  were  practised  in  pagan  Britain."  From 
the  numerous  cases  in  which  the  bones  of  an  infant  and  a 
woman  have  been  found  together  in  one  grave,  it  seems 
probable  that  if  any  woman  died  in  childbirth,  or  while 
nursing,  the  baby  was  buried  alive  with  her,  as  is  still  the 
practice  among  some  of  the  Esquimaux  families. 

I  would  practically  urge  on  those  who  may  in  future  open 
any  barrows — 

1.  To  record  the  sex  of  the  person  buried;  this  is  more 
satisfactorily  to  be  determined  from  the  form  of  the  pelvis, 
than  from  the  skull.  In  this  manner  we  may  hope  to  deter- 
mine the  relative  position,  and  the  separate  occupations  (if 
any)  of  the  two  sexes. 

2.  To  observe  the  state  of  the  teeth,  from  which  we  may 
derive  information  as  to  the  nature  of  the  food. 

3.  To  preserve    carefully   any  bones  of  quadrupeds   that 

*  Even  so  lately  as  in  1781,  Fre-  f  Manners   and    Customs   of    the 

derick  Casimir  was  laid  in  his  pfravo  Feegees,  by  T.  Williams,  i860,  vol.  i. 

with  his  slaughtered  horse.     Horaa  p.  189. 
ferales,  p.  66. 


172       DESIRABILITY    OF    PRESERVING    MEGALITIIIC    MOXUJlfiXTS. 

may  be  present,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  species,  and,  in  the 
case  of  the  ox  and  hog,  to  determine,  if  possible,  whether 
they  belong  to  wild  or  domesticated  individuals. 

We  may  fairly  hope  that  when  thoroughly  questioned  they 
will  not  only  answer  many  of  these  interesting  questions,  but 
that  they  will  also  tell  us  many  things  which  it  would  never 
occur  to  us  to  ask.  It  is  evident,  at  least,  that  when  a  suf- 
ficient number  shall  have  been  examined  we  shall  know  much 
more  than  wo  do  yet,  about  the  social  and  domestic  life  of 
those  early  ages ;  we  shall  know  whether  during  the  Stone 
Age  they  had  domestic  animals  in  the  North  as  would 
appear  to  have  been  the  case  in  Switzerland;  we  shall 
know  in  part  what  kind  of  clothes  they  wore,  and  by  the 
remains  found  with  female  skeletons  we  shall  even  be  able 
to  ascertain,  in  some  measure,  the  position  occupied  by 
woman  with  reference  to  man. 

If,  however,  we  are  to  acquire  all  the  information  that  can 
be  derived  from  the  burial  mounds,  it  must  be  done  quickly. 
Every  year  many  are  destroyed,  and  Abury  itself,  the  grandest 
of  megalithic  monuments,  was  sacrificed  for  a  paltry  profit  of 
a  few  pounds. 

Moreover,  as  population  increases,  and  land  grows  more 
valuable,  these  ancient  monuments  become  more  and  more 
liable  to  mutilation  and  destruction.  We  cannot  afford  them 
the  protection  of  our  museums,  but  it  is  very  desirable  that 
Government  should  select  some  competent  arclia3ologist  to 
act  as  conservator  of  the  national  antiquities,  whose  duty  it 
would  be,  as  far  as  possible,  to  preserve  from  wanton  injury 
the  graves  of  our  ancestors  and  other  interesting  monuments 
of  the  past ;  to  make  careful  drawings  of  all  those  which 
have  not  yet  been  figured,  and  to  report  from  time  to  tiine 
upon  their  condition.  At  a  very  trifling  expense  the  Danish 
government  have  bought  for  the  nation  a  large  number  of 
tumuli,  and  have  thus  preserved  many  national  monuments 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  destroyed. 


173 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   ANCIENT   LAKE -HABITATIONS    OF    SWITZERLAND. 

IN  consequence  of  the  extraordinary  dryness  and  cold  of 
the  weather  during  the  winter  months  of  ]  853,  the 
rivers  of  Switzerland  did  not  receive  their  usual  supplies,  and 
the  water  in  the  lakes  fell  much  below  its  ordinary  level,  so 
that,  in  some  places,  a  broad  strand  was  left  uncovered  along 
the  margin,  while  in  others  shallow  banks  were  converted 
into  islands.  The  water  level  of  this  season  was,  indeed,  the 
low^est  upon  record.  The  lowest  level  marked  on  the  so- 
called  stone  of  Stafa  was  that  of  1674;  but  in  1854  the 
water  sank  a  foot  lower  still. 

In  a  small  bay  between  Ober  Meileu  and  Dollikon,  on  the 
Lake  of  Zurich,  the  inhabitants  had  taken  advantage  of  the 
lowness  of  the  water  to  increase  their  gardens,  by  building  a 
wall  along  the  new  water-line,  and  slightly  raising  the  level 
of  the  piece  thus  reclaimed,  by  mud  dredged  fi'om  the  lake. 
In  the  course  of  this  dredging  they  found  great  numbers  of 
piles,  of  deer-horns,  and  also  some  implements.  M.  Aeppli 
of  Meilen,  on  the  Lake  of  Zurich,  was  the  first  to  observe 
these  specimens  of  human  workmanship,  which  he  justly 
supposed  might  throw  some  light  on  the  history  and  con- 
dition of  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  Swiss  valleys.  He  at 
once,  therefore,  called  the  attention  of  Dr.  Keller  to  them, 
and  that  eminent  antiquary  soon  satisfied  himself  as  to  their 
true  nature,  and  proved  that  the  early  inhabitants  of  Switzer- 


174  LAKE-DWELLINGS    MENTIONED    BY    HERODOTUS. 

land  constructed  some,  at  least,  of  their  dwellings  above  the 
surface  of  the  water,  and  that  they  must  have  lived  in  a 
manner  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Paeouians,  as  described 
by  Herodotus*. 

"Their  dwellings,"  he  says,  "are  contrived  after  this 
manner :  planks  fitted  on  lofty  piles  are  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  lake,  with  a  narrow  entrance  from  the  main 
land  by  a  single  bridge.  These  piles,  that  support  the  planks, 
all  the  citizens  anciently  placed  there  at  the  public  charge ; 
but  afterwards  they  established  a  law  to  the  following  effect : 
whenever  a  man  marries,  for  each  wife  he  sinks  three  piles, 
bringing  wood  from  a  mountain  called  Orbelus :  but  every 
man  has  several  wives.  They  live  in  the  following  manner  : 
every  man  has  a  hut  on  the  planks,  in  which  he  dwells,  with 
a  trap-door  closely  fitted  in  the  planks,  and  leading  down  to 
the  lake.  They  tie  the  young  children  with  a  cord  round  the 
foot,  fearing  lest  they  should  fall  into  the  lake  beneath.  To 
their  horses  and  beasts  of  burden  they  give  fish  for  fodder; 
of  which  there  is  such  an  abundance,  that  when  a  man  has 
opened  his  trap-door,  ho  lets  down  an  empty  basket  by  a 
cord  into  the  lake,  and,  after  waiting  a  short  time,  draws  it 
up  full  of  fish." 

At  the  Newcastle  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  in 
]  863,  Lord  Lovaine  described  a  Lake-dwelling  observed  by 
him  in  the  South  of  Scotland;  and  in  the  "Natural  History 
Review,"  for  July,  1863,  I  had  already  mentioned  one  in  the 
North,  which,  however,  had  not  at  that  time  been  thoroughly 
examined.  Sir  Charles  Bunbury  has  recorded  (Quarterly 
Journal  of  the  Geological  Society,  vol.  xii.  1856)  some  similar 
remains  found  near  Thetford,  which  have  been  described  at 
greater  length  by  Mr.  Alfred  Newton,  in  an  interesting 
paper  "  On  the  Zoology  of  Ancient  Europe,"  read  before  the 
Cambridge  Philosophical  Society,  in  March,  1862.  In  his 
*  Terpsichore,  v.  14. 


I 


PILE    DWELLINGS    IN    OTHER    PARTS    OF    EUROPE.  175 

fifth  memoir  on  the  Pjfahlbauten*^  Dr.  Keller  has  described 
a  Lake-dwelling  at  Peschiera,  on  the  L.  di  Garda;  and  we 
are  indebted  to  MM.  B.  Gastaldif,  P.  Strobel^  and  L.  Pigorini 
for  a  description  of  ruins  of  a  similar  nature,  which  have  been 
found  in  Northern  Italy.  Dr.  Lisch  has  described  several 
Pile-dwellings  in  Mecklenburg,  and  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes, 
in  his  celebrated  work,  "Antiquites  Celtiques  et  Antedilu- 
vicnnes,"  mentions  certain  remains  found  in  the  peat  near 
Abbeville,  which  appear  to  have  been  the  ruins  of  Lake- 
dwelliugs ;  an  observation  which  is  of  special  interest,  as  an 
additional  argument  for  referring  the  Swiss  Lake-dwellings 
to  the  period  of  the  peat  in  the  Somme  valley,  and  therefore 
to  an  epoch  long  subsequent  to  that  of  the  drift-hatchets. 
This  inference  is  entirely  in  accordance  with  the  conclusions 
derived  from  the  study  of  the  stone  implements  themselves. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  back  to  pre-historic  times ; 
nor  need  we  appeal  to  doubtful  history  or .  ancient  remains 
for  evidence  of  the  curious  habit  of  water-dwelling.  Many 
savage  or  semi-savage  tribes  live  in  the  same  manner,  even 
at  the  present  day.  I  have  been  informed  by  a  friend  who 
lives  at  Salonica  that  the  fishermen  of  Lake  Prasias  still 
inhabit  wooden  cottages  built  over  the  water,  as  in  the  time 
of  Herodotus.  The  city  of  Tcherkask  also  is  built  over  the 
Don.  In  parts  of  Sinde  the  pastoral  tribes  ''  dwell  in  habi- 
tations elevated  eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  to  avoid 
the  damp  and  the  insects  occasioned  by  it  J."  Similar  dwell- 
ings are  extensively  used  in  the  northern  parts  of  South 
America;  Venezuela,  indeed,  having  been  so  called  because 
the  houses  resemble  those  of  Venice  in  being  constructed 

*  Mittheilungen    dcr   Antiquaris-  lacustri  nei  Laghi  di  Lombardia.  Atti 

chen  Gesellscbaft  in  Zurich,  1863.  della  Soc.  Italiani  di  Scieuze  Natu- 

t  Nuovi    Cenni    sugli    oggetti    di  rali,  1863,  voL  v.  p.  154. 

Alta  AntichitA  trovati  nelle  Torbiere  J  Bumes.     Travels  into  Bokhara, 

e  nelle  Marniere  dell'  Italia.  See  also  vol.  iii.  p.  90. 
Stoppani,  Prima  ricerca  d>  Abitazioni 


176  MODERN    LAKE    DWELLINGS. 

over  water.     But  it  is  in  tlie  East*  Indies  that  this  habit 
prevails  most  extensively.     The  city  of  Borneo  is  altogether 
built  upon  piles,  and  similar  constructions  have  been  de- 
scribed by  various  travellers  in  New  Guinea,  Celebes,  Solo, 
Ceram,    Mindanao,    the    Caroline    Islands,    and    elsewhere. 
Dampier  long  ago  mentioned  similar  dwellings  constructed 
over  the   water,   and   Dumont   d^Urville*,    quoted    by   M. 
Troyon,  tells  us  that  "  Jadis  toute  la  ville  de  Tondano  etait 
construite  sur  le  lac,  et  I'on  ne  communiquait  d'une  maison 
a  une  autre  qu'en  bateau.     Forts  de  cette  disposition,  en 
1810,  les  habitants  eurent  de  demeles  avec  les  Hollandais,  et 
voulurent  secouer  leur  joug :  ils  s'armerent  et  furent  battus. 
Ce  ne  fut  pas  sans  peine  qu'on  en  vint  h.  bout:  il  fallut  y 
porter  de  Tartillerie   et  construire   des   bateaux  canoniers. 
Depuis  ce  temps,  et  pour  eviter  cet  inconvenient,  on  a  de- 
fendu  aux  indigenes  de  construire  leurs  habitations  sur  le 
lac.'*    The  Bishop  of  Labuan  thus  describes  the  dwellings 
of  the  Dyaks :  "  They  are  built  along  the  river  side,  on  an 
elevated  platform  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high,  in  a  long  row; 
or  rather  it  is  a  whole  village  in  one  ■  row  of  some  hundreds 
of  feet  long.    The  platforms  are  first  framed  with  beams,  and 
then  crossed  with  laths  about  two  inches  wide  and  two  inches 
apart,  and  in  this  way  are  well  ventilated;    and   nothing 
remains  on  the  floors,  but  all  the  refuse  falls  through  and 
goes  below  f." 

In  Ireland  a  number  of  more  or  less  artificial  islands  called 
"  Crannoges  J"  (fig.  162)  are  knowA  historically  to  have  been 
used  as  strongholds  by  the  petty  chiefs.  They  are  composed 
of  earth  and  stones,  strengthened  by  piles,  and  have  supplied 
the  Irish  archaeologists  with  numerous  weapons,  implements, 
and  bones.     From  the   Crannoge   at  Dunshauglin,  indeed, 

*  Voyage  de  1' Astrolabe,  vol.  v.  p.       Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  28. 
635.  X  See  Wilde's  Catalogue,  vol.  i.  p. 

t  Trans,  of  the  Ethnol.  Soc.  New       220. 


IRISH    CRANNOGES. 


177 


more  tlian  one  liundrecl  and  fifty  cart-loads  of  bones  were 
obtained  and  used  as  manure  !  These  Lake-dwellings  of 
Ireland,  however,  are  referable  to  a  much  later  period  than 
those  of  Switzerland,  and  are  frequently  mentioned  in  early 
history.  Thus,  according  to  Shirley,  "  One  Thomas  Photti- 
place,  in  his  answer  to  an  inquiry  from  the  Government,  as 
to  what  castles  or  forts  O'Neil  hath,  and  of  what  strength 
they  bo,  states  (May  15,  1567):  'For  castles,  I  think  it  bo 
not  unknown  unto  your  honors,  he  trusteth  no  point  there- 
unto for  his  safety,  as  appeareth  by  the  raising  of  the  strongest 
castles  of  all  his  countreys,  and  that  fortification  which  he 
only  dependeth  upon  is  in  sartin  ffreshwater  loghes  in  his 


Fig.  162. 


Section  of  a  Crannoge  in  Ardakillin  Lough,  Roscommon. 

country,  which  from  the  sea  there  come  neither  ship  nor 
boat  to  approach  them:  it  is  thought  that  there  in  the  said 
fortified  islands  lyeth  all  his  plate,  which  is  much,  and 
money,  prisoners,  and  gages :  which  islands  hath  in  wars 
to  fore  been  attempted,  and  now  of  late  again  by  the  Lord 
Deputy  there.  Sir  Harry  Sydney,  which  for  want  of  means 
for  safe  conducts  upon  the  water  it  hath  not  prevailed.' " 

Again,  the  map  of  the  escheated  territories,  made  for  the 
Government,  a.d.  1591,  by  Francis  Jobson,  or  the  "Piatt 
of  the  County  of  Monaghan,"  contains  rough  sketches  of  the 
dwellings  of  the  petty  chiefs  of  Monaghan,  which  "  are  in  all 
cases  surrounded  by  water."  In  the  "  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters,"  and  other  records  of  early  Irish  History,  we  meet 
with  numerous  instances  in  which  the  Crannoges  are  men- 
14 


178     LAKE    DWELLINGS    FOUND    IN    MOST    OF   THE   SWISS    LAKES. 

tioned,  in  some  of  wliicli  tlieir  position  has  not  preserved 
them  from  robbery  and  destruction;  and  we  need  not,  there- 
fore, be  surprised  to  find  that  many  of  the  Swiss  Pfahlbauten 
appear  to  have  been  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  Swiss  "  r/aJdhautcn/'  or  Lake  habitations,  have  been 
described  by  Dr.  Keller,  in  six  memoirs  presented  to  the 
Antiquarian  Society  of  Zurich,  in  1854,  1858,  1860,  1863, 
and  18G6,  and  subsequently  translated  into  English  by  Mr. 
Lee.  M.  Troyon,  also,  in  a  special  work,  "  Sur  Ics  Habita- 
tions Lacustres,"  1860,  has  given  a  general  account  of  the 
ancient  habitations  of  his  native  land,  accompanied  with  the 
Lake-dwellings  of  other  countries  and  times.  The  discoveries 
in  Lake  Moosseedorf  have  been  described  by  MM.  Jahu  and 
Uhlmann  (Die  Pfahlbaualterthiimer  von  Moosseedorf.  Bern, 
1857) ;  Mr.  Desor  has  published  a  memoir  entitled  Les 
Palafittes  ou  constructions  lacustres  du  lac  de  Neuchatel; 
the  Lake-habitation  at  the  Pont  de  Thiele  has  also  been 
described  in  a  separate  memoir  by  M.  Y.  Gillieron  (Actes  de 
la  Societe  jurassienne  d'Emulation,  1860);  and  we  owe  to 
Dr.  Eiitimeyer  two  works  on  the  animal  remains  from  the 
Pfahlbauten,  the  first,  "  Untersuchung  der  Thierreste  aus 
den  Pfahlbauten  der  Schweiz,"  published  by  the  Antiquarian 
Society  of  Zurich,  in  1860;  and  still  more  recently,  a  larger 
work — "  Die  Fauna  der  Pfahlbauten  in  der  Schweiz."  Col- 
lections of  objects  from  these  localities  have  also  been  made 
by  many  Swiss  archaeologists.  The  Flora  has  been  studied 
by  M.  Heer,  whose  results  are  contained  in  the  memoirs 
published  by  Dr.  Keller,  and  in  a  special  uapcr  "  Die  Pflauzen 
der  Pfahlbauten." 

Nor  must  we  omit  to  mention  M.  Morlot's  excellent  paper 
in  the  "Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Vaudoise  (March,  I860),"  and 
his  no  less  admirable  "  Le9on  d'Ouverture  d^un  cours  sur  la 
haute  Antiquite  fait  a  F Academic  de  Lausanne  (Dec.  I860)." 
The  Swiss  archaeologists  have  indeed  made  the  most  of  a 
golden  opportunity.     Not  only  in  the  lake  of  Zurich,  but 


NUMBERS   OF   LAKE  VILLAGES.  179 

also  in  Lakes  Constance,  Geneva,  Neufchatel,  Bienne,  Moral, 
Sempacli,  iu  fact  in  most  of  the  large  Swiss  lakes,  as  well 
as  in  several  of  the  smaller  ones  (Inkwyl,  Pfeffikon,  Moos- 
seedorf,  Luissel,  etc.),  similar  Lake-habitations  have  been 
discovered.  In  the  larger  lakes,  indeed,  not  one,  but  many 
of  these  settlements  existed;  thus,  there  are  already  on 
record,  in  Lake  Bienne,  twenty;  in  the  Lake  of  Geneva, 
twenty-four;  in  Lake  Constance,  thirty-two;  in  Lake  Neuf- 
chatel,  as  many  as  forty-nine ;  on  the  whole  more  than  two 
hundred;  and  many  others,  doubtless,  remain  to  be  discovered. 
Of  those  already  known,  some  belong  to  the  Iron  Age,  some 
few  even  to  Roman  times ;  but  the  greater  number  appear  to 
be  divided  in  almost  equal  proportions  between  the  age  of 
Stone  and  that  of  Bronze. 

Though  the  architecture  of  this  period  was  probably  simple, 
still  the  weight  to  be  sustained  on  the  wooden  platforms  must 
have  been  considerable  ;  and  many  of  the  pUes  are  either  bent 
or  broken;  and  to  prevent  them  sinking  too  deeply  into  the 
soft  mud  they  were  sometimes  driven  through  boards  which 
rested  on  the  bottom. 

The  dwellings  of  the  Gauls  are  described  as  having  been 
circular  huts,  built  of  wood  and  lined  with  mud.  The  inter- 
stices appear  to  have  been  filled  with  moss.  Some  of  the 
huts  on  the  Pile  works  were  probably  of  a  similar  nature. 
This  supposition  is  not  a  mere  hypothesis,  but  many  frag- 
ments of  the  clay  used  for  the  lining  have  been  discovered. 
Their  preservation  is  evidently  due  to  the  building  having 
been  destroyed  by  fire,  which  has  hardened  the  clay,  and 
enabled  it  to  resist  the  action  of  the  water.  These  fragments 
bear,  on  one  side,  the  marks  of  interlaced  branches,  while  on 
the  other,  which  apparently  formed  the  inner  wall  of  the  cabin, 
they  are  quite  smooth.  Some  of  those  which  have  been  found 
at  Wan  gen  are  so  large  and  so  regular,  that  M.  Troy  on  felt 
justified  in  concluding  that  the  cabins  were  circular,  and  from 
ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter.     It  would  be  most  interesting^ 


180  ATTEMPT   TO    MAKE    A   CENSUS. 

if  we  could  construct  a  retrospective  (Jensus  for  tliese  early 
periods,  and  M.  Troyon  has  made  an  attempt  to  do  so.  The 
settlement  at  Morges,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  Lake 
of  Geneva,  is  1,200  feet  long  and  150  broad,  giving  a  surface 
of  180,000  square  feet.  Allowing  the  huts  to  have  boon  fifteen 
feet  in  diameter,  and  supposing  that  they  occupied  half  the 
surface,  leaving  the  rest  for  gangways,  he  estimates  the 
number  of  cabins  at  311 ;  and  supposing  again  that,  on  an  ave- 
rage, each  was  inhabited  by  four  persons,  he  obtains  for  the 
whole  a  population  of  1244.  Starting  from  the  same  data, 
he  assumes  for  the  Lake  of  Neufchatel  a  population  of  about 
5000.  Sixty-eight  villages  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age  are 
supposed  to  have  contained  42,500  persons;  while  for  the 
preceding  epoch,  by  the  same  process  of  reasoning,  he  esti- 
mates the  population  at  31,875. 

So  far  as  these  calculations  rest  on  the  fragments  of  the 
clay  walls,  they  must  be  regarded  as  altogether  unsatisfactory, 
since  Dr.  Keller  informs  me  that  the  largest  pieces  yet  dis- 
covered are  only  a  foot  in  their  greatest  diameter.     There  is 
also  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  huts  were  generally  not 
circular,  but  rectangular.     Nor  am  I  inclined  to  attribute 
much  value  to  the  estimates  of  population  based  on  the 
extent  of  the  platforms.     M.  Troyon  himself  admits  that  his 
"  chiffres  sent  peut-ctre  un  peu  eleves,  eu  egard  aux  habi- 
tations sur  terre  ferme,  dont  il  ne  pent  etre  question  dans  ce 
calcul,  et  vu  qu'on  est  encore  bicn  loin  de  connaitre  tons  les 
points  des  lacs  qui  ont  ete  occupes,"  and,  indeed,  in  the 
three  years  which  have  elapsed  since  his  book  was  written, 
the  number  of  Lake  villages  discovered  has  been  doubled. 
Moreover,  M.  Troyon  assumes  that  the  Lake  villages  of  the 
Bronze  Ago  were  contemporaneous,  and  that  the  same  was 
the  case  with  those  belonging  to  the  Stone  Age.     This  also 
I  should  be  disposed  to  question ;  both  these  periods,  but 
especially  the  Stone  Age,  in  all  probability  extended  over  a 


CONSTRUCTION    OF   THE    PLATFORMS.  181 

long  scries  of  years,  and  though  in  these  matters  it  is  of 
course  necessary  to  speak  with  much  caution,  still  if  we  are 
to  make  any  assumption  in  the  case,  it  would  seem  safer  to 
suppose  that  in  each  period  some  of  the  villages  had  perished, 
or  been  forsaken,  before  others  were  built. 

We  might  feel  surprised  that  a  people  so  uncivihzed  should 
have  constructed  their  houses  with  immense  labour  on  the 
water,  when  it  would  have  been  so  much  more  easy  to  have 
built  them  on  dry  land.  But  we  have  already  seen  how,  even 
in  historical  times,  such  dwellings  have  served  as  simple 
and  yet  valuable  fortifications.  Still,  though  it  is  evident 
that  the  security  thus  given  would  amply  compensate  for 
much  extra  labour,  it  remains  difficult  to  understand  in  what 
manner  the  piles  were  driven  into  the  ground. 

In  many  cases,  indeed,  settlements  of  the  Stone  Age  are 
characterized  by  what  are  called  "  Steinbergs,'^  that  is  to  say, 
artificial  heaps  of  stones,  etc.,  evidently  brought  by  the 
natives  to  serve  as  a  support  to  the  piles.  A  boat  laden 
with  stones,  apparently  for  this  purpose,  was  some  years  ago 
discovered  in  the  Lake  of  Ncufchatel.  In  fact,  they  found  it 
easier  to  raise  the  bottom  round  the  piles,  than  to  di'ive  the 
piles  into  the  bottom.  On  the  other  hand,  some  of  these 
constructions,  as,  for  instance,  those  at  Inkwyl  and  Wauwyl, 
described  respectively  by  M,  Morlot  and  Col.  Suter,  more 
closely  resemble  the  Irish  Crannoge.  We  see,  therefore, 
that,  as  Dr.  Keller  says,  the  Lake- dwellers  followed  two 
different  systems  in  the  construction  of  their  dwellings, 
which  he  distinguishes  as  "  Pfahlbauten,"  or  Pilebuildiugs, 
and  "  Packwerkbauten,"  or  Crannoges  :  in  the  first  of  which 
the  platforms  were  simply  supported  on  piles ;  in  the'  second 
of  which  the  support  consisted  not  of  piles  only,  but  of  a 
solid  mass  of  mud,  stones,  etc.,  with  layers  of  horizontal  and 
perpendicular  stakes,  the  latter  serving  less  as  a  support 
than  to  bind  the  mass  firmly  together.  It  is  evident  that 
the  "  Packwerkbau  "  is  a  much  simpler  and  ruder  affair  than 


182  COMPARISON    OF    LAKE-DWELLrNGS 

the  "  Pfahlbau,"  in  which  no  small  skill  must  have  been 
required  to  connect  the  perpendicular  and  horizontal  piles 
firmly  together.  Still  the  "  Packwerkbauten "  were  not 
suitable  for  the  larger  lakes,  as  during  storms  they  would 
have  been  injured  by  the  waves,  which  must  have  passed 
harmlessly  through  the  open  work  of  the  "  Pfahlbautcn.'^ 
We  find,  therefore,  that  while  the  former  method  of  con- 
struction prevailed  only  in  small  lakes  or  morasses,  the  latter 
was  adopted  in  the  larger  lakes,  and  even  sometimes,  possibly, 
on  dry  land;  a  custom  which,  however  singular,  exists  at 
the  present  day,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  island  of  Borneo, 
and  even  in  Switzerland  itself. 

The  antiquities  found  at  Wauwyl,  Robenhausen,  at  the 
Pont  de  Thiele,  at  Moosseedorf,  and  elsewhere  in  small 
lakes  and  peat-bogs,  are  more  or  less  covered  by  a  thick 
layer  of  peat,  which  perhaps  at  some  future  date  will  give  us 
a  clue  to  their  age.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  large  lakes  no 
peat  grows.  At  the  entrance  of  the  rivers,  indeed,  much 
mud  and  gravel  is  of  course  accumulated;  the  'Lake  of 
Geneva,  for  instance,  once  no  doubt  extended  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  up  the  Valley  of  the  Rhone.  But  the 
gravel  and  mud  brought  down  by  that  river  are  deposited, 
as  every  one  knows,  near  its  entrance  into  the  lake,  and  the 
water  of  the  lake  is  elsewhere  beautifully  clear  and  pure. 

The  lake  itself  is  very  deep,  in  parts  as  much  as  nine 
hundred  and  eighty  feet ;  and  the  banks  are  generally  steep, 
but  round  the  margin  there  is,  in  most  places,  a  fringe  of 
shallow  water,  due,  probably,  to  the  erosive  action  of  the 
waves,  and  known  to  the  fishermen  as  the  "  blancfond,^' 
because  the  lake  is  there  of  a  pale  greyish  hue,  when 
contrasted  with  the  bright  blue  of  the  central  deeper  wateV. 
It  is  on  this  "blancfond,"  and  at  a  depth  of  sometimes  as 
much  as  fifteen  feet,  that  the  Pfahlbauten  were  generally 
constructed.     On  calm  days,  when  the  surface  of  the  water 


OP   DIFFERENT    PEEIODS.  183 

is  unruffled,  the  piles  are  plainly  visible.  Few  of  them  now 
project  more  than  two  feet  from  the. bottom;  eaten  away  by 
the  incessant  action  of  the  water,  some  of  them  "  n'apparais- 
sent  plus  que  comrao  aiguilles/'  which  finally  also  disappear, 
and  leave  only  a  black  disk  at  the  surface  of  the  mud.  This, 
however,  is  the  case  principally  in  the  Lake  villages  of  the 
Stone  Age.  *' Ce  qui  les  distingue  surtout,"  says  Prof. 
Desor,  ^'c'est  la  qualite  des  pieux,  qui  sont  beaucoup  plus 
gros  que  ceux  des  stations  du  bronze  :  ce  sont  des  troncs 
entiers,  mesurant  jusqu'a  28  et  30  centimetres.  Au  lieu  de 
faire  saillie  dans  Tcau,  ils  sont  a  flour  du  fond."  On  the 
other  hand,  in  speaking  of  the  Bronze  Age  piles,  he  says : 
"  Les  pieux  sont  plus  greles ;  ce  sont  frequemment  des 
troncs  fendus  en  quatre,  n'excedant  guerc  4,  au  plus  5  pouces 
de  diametre ;  au  lieu  d'etre  a  fleur  du  fond,  ils  s'elevent  de 
1  k  2  pieds  au-dessiis  de  la  vase,  ce  qui  permet  de  les 
reconnaitre  facilement,  malgre  leur  plus  grand  profondeur." 
M.  Troyon  also  tells  us  that  "  On  pent  dire  que  les  pilotis 
de  la  fin  du  dcuxieme  age,  ancicns  de  plus  de  deux  mille 
ans  et  saillants  d'un  k  trois  pieds  au-dessus  de  la  vase,  pre- 
sentent  a  peu  pres  partout  le  memo  aspect,  tandis  que  ceux 
de  I'age  de  la  pierre  out  ete  generalemcut  uses  jusqu'k  la 
surface  du  limon  dout  ils  sont  parfois  rccouvcrts  *." 

Tlie  more  complete  destruction  of  the  piles  belonging  to 
the  earlier  period  depends  not  only  on  their  greater  age,  but  on 
their  occurrence  in  shallower  water.  The  action  of  the  waves 
being  greatest  near  the  surface,  and  diminishing  gradually 
downwards,  not  only  are  those  piles  which  occupy  the  deeper 
parts  least  liable  to  destruction,  but  in  each  the  erosion  takes 
place  gradually  from  above,  so  that  the  upper  end  of  the 
piles  is  often  moi'e  regularly  pointed  even  than  the  lower. 
Lying  among  them  are  fragments  of  bone,  horn,  pottery, 
and  sometimes  objects  of  bronze.  Most  of  these  are  em- 
*  Lea  Conatructions  lacustrea  du  lac  de  Neufcliatel. 


184  CONDITION   OF   THE    OBJECTS    FOUND. 

bedded  in  the  mud  or  hidden  under  the  stones,  but  others 
lie  on  the  bottom  yet  uninjured ;  so  that  when  for  the  first 
time  I  saw  them  through  the  transparent  water,  a  momentary 
feehng  of  doubt  as  to  their  age  rose  in  my  mind.  So  fresh 
are  they  and  so  unaltered,  they  look  as  if  they  were  only 
things  of  yesterday,  and  it  seems  hard  to  believe  that  they 
can  have  remained  there  for  centuries.  The  explanation  of 
the  difficulty  is,  however,  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
action  of  the  most  violent  storms  is  perceptible  only  to  a 
small  depth.  Except,  therefore,  near  the  mouths  of  rivers, 
or  where  there  is  much  vegetation,  which  in  the  large  lakes 
is  rarely  the  case,  the  deposition  of  mud  at  depths  greater 
than  four  feet  is  an  extremely  slow  process,  and  objects 
which  fall  to  the  bottom  in  such  situations  will  neither 
be  covered  over  nor  carried  away.  "  J^ai  peche,"  says  M. 
Troyon,  "  sur  Femplacement  en  face  du  Moulin  de  Bevaix, 
les  fragments  d^un  grand  vase  qui  gisaient  k  pen  de  distance 
les  uns  des  autres,  et  que  j'ai  pu  reunir  de  mauiere  h  les 
remontre  completement.  A  la  Tongue,  pres  d'Hermance, 
j'ai  trouve  les  deux  fragments  d'un  anueau  support,  distants 
de  quelques  pieds,  qui,  en  les  rapprochant  ne  laissent  aucun 
interstice."  The  upper  parts  of  the  objects  also,  which  are 
bathed  by  the  water,  are  generally  covered  by  a  layer  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  while  the  lower  plirt  which  has  sunk  into 
the  mud  is  quite  unaltered.  M.  Troyon  once  obtained  at 
Cortaillod  a  pair  of  bracelets  in  one  haul  of  the  dredge — the 
first,  which  had  been  visible  from  the  boat,  was  greenish  and 
covered  with  incrustation ;  the  second,  which  had  been  in 
the  mud  immediately  below,  was  as  fresh  as  if  it  had  only^ 
just  been  made. 

As  piles  of  the  Bronze  Age  are  sometimes  found  at  a 
depth  of  as  much  as  fifteen  feet,  and  it  is  manifest  that  build- 
ings cannot  have  been  constructed  over  water  much  deeper 
than  this,  it  is  evident  that  the  Swiss  lakes  cannot  then 


LEVEL    OP    THE    SWISS    LAKES.  185 

have  stood  at  a  mucli  higher  level  than  at  pi'esent.  This 
conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the  position  of  Roman  remains 
at  Thonon^  on  the  lake  of  Geneva,  and  we  thus  obtain 
satisfactory  evidence  that  the  height  of  the  Swiss  lakes 
must  have  remained  almost  unaltered  for  a  very  long  period. 

In  the  large  lakes  the  passing  traveller  may  readily  mark  the 
number  and  general  distribution  of  the  piles,  he  may  determine 
the  area  which  they  occupy,  and  pick  up  fragments  of  bone 
and  pottery;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  peat-mosses  are  more 
instructive.  In  them  we  not  only  obtain  evidence  as  to  the 
size,  form,  and  construction  of  the  huts,  but  implements  of 
wood,  specimens  of  fruit,  nuts,  grain,  and  even  fragments  of 
clothing,  none  of  which  can  be  preserved  in  the  open  water 
of  the  large  lakes. 

After  having  chosen  a  favourable  situation,  the  first  step 
in  the  construction  of  the  Lake-habitations  was  to  obtain  the 
necessary  timber.  To  cut  down  a  tree  with  a  stone  hatchet 
must  have  been  no  slight  undertaking.  It  is,  indeed,  most 
probable  that  use  was  made  of  fire,  in  the  same  manner  as 
is  done  by  existing  savages  in  felling  trees  and  making 
canoes.  Burning  the  wood  and  then  scraping  away  the 
charred  portion  renders  the  task  far  more  easy,  and  the  men 
of  the  Stone  period  appear  to  have  avoided  the  use  of  large 
trees,  except  in  making  their  canoes.  Their  piles  were  em- 
bedded in  the  mud  from  one  to  five  feet,  and  must  also 
have  projected  from  four  to  six  feet  above  the  water  level, 
which  cannot  have  been  very  different  from  what  it  is  at 
present.  They  must,  therefore,  have  had  a  length  of  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  feet,  and  they  were  from  three  to  nine  inches 
in  diameter.  The  pointed  extremity  which  entered  into  the 
mud  still  bears  the  marks  of  the  fire  and  the  rude  cuts  made 
by  the  stone  hatchets.  The  piles  belonging  to  the  Bronze 
period,  being  prepared  with  metal  axes,  were  much  more 
regularly  pointed,  and  the  differences  between  the  two  have 


186 


NUMBER    OP    PILES    USED. 


Fig.  1G3. 


been  ingeniously  compared  to  those  shown  by  lead  pencils 
well  and  badly  cut.  Moreover,  a  cut  by  a  stone  axe  is 
necessarily  more  or  less  concave,  whereas  those  made  with 
metal  are  flat.  To  drag  the  piles  to  the  lake,  and  fix  them 
firmly,  must  also  have  required  much  labour,  especially  when 
their  number  is  considered.  At  Wangen  alone  M.  Lohle 
has  calculated  that  50,000  piles  were  used;  but  we  must 
remember  that  these  were  probably  not  all  planted  at  one 
time,  nor  by  one  generation.  Wangen,  indeed,  was  certainly 
not  built  in  a  day,  but  was,  no  doubt,  gradually  enlarged  as 
the  population  increased.  Herodotus  informs  us  that  the 
Pgeoniaus  made  the  first  platform  at  the  public  expense,  but 
that,  subsequently,  at  every  mar- 
riage (and  polygamy  was  permitted), 
the  bridegroom  was  expected  to  add 
a  certain  number  of  piles  to  the  com- 
mon support.  Fig.  1G3  represents 
a  section  taken  at  Niederwyl,  and 
shows  two  series  of  piles,  one  over 
the  other.  The  layer  of  ashes  ap- 
pears to  indicate  that  the  settle- 
ment was  burnt  down,  and  subse- 
quently rebuilt.  The  pile-works  of 
subsequent  periods  difibr  little  from 
those  of  the  Stone  Age,  so  far  at 
least  as  can  be  judged  by  the  parts  remaining,  but  the  piles 
are  less  decayed,  and  project  above  the  mud  farther  than  is 
the  case  with  those  of  the  preceding  epoch. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Col.  Suter  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  examining  the  construction  of  the  Lake-dwelling  at 
Wauwyl,  near  Zofingen,  in  the  Canton  of  Lucerne.  This 
apparently  belonged  to  the  Stone  Age,  no  trace  of  metal 
having  yet  been  discovered  in  it.  It  is  situated  in  a  peat 
mossi  which  was  evidently  at  one  time  the  bed  of  a  shallow 


Section  at  Niederwyl. 


I 


DESCRIPTION    or   THE    REMAINS   AT   WAUWYL.  187 

lake.  By  the  gradual  growth  of  peat^  however^  the  level  has 
been  raised  several  feet,  and  the  plain  has  recently  beeu 
drained.  We  were  assisted  by  six  labourers,  who  dug  out 
the  peat,  which  we  then  carefully  examiued.  I  mention  this, 
because  the  difference  in  the  objects  collected  from  different 
Pfahlbauten  may  probably  be,  in  part  at  least,  accounted  for 
by  the  different  ways  in  which  the  search  has  been  made.  The 
peat  at  Wauwyl  varies  in  thickness  from  three  to  ten  feet, 
and  rests  on  a  white  bed  consisting  of  broken  fresh-water 
shells.  This  stratum,  though  only  a  few  inches  thick,  is 
found  in  the  old  beds  of  many  small  lakes,  and  is  frequently 
mentioned  by  the  Swiss  archaeologists  under  the  name  of 
'' weissgrund."  It  must  not,  however,  be  confounded  with 
the  "blancfond"  of  the  larger  lakes.  The  piles  go  through 
the  peat  and  the  ''^weissgrund"  into  the  solid  ground  below. 
It  is  not  easy  to  obtain  them  whole,  because  the  lov/er  por- 
tions are  much  altered  by  time,  and  so  thoroughly  saturated  by 
water,  that  they  are  quite  soft.  Col.  Suter,  however,  extracted 
two  of  them;  one  was  14ft.  Gin.  in  length,  of  which  4ft.  was 
in  the  peat,  and  the  remaining  10ft>.  Gin.  in  the  sand  beneath, 
the  other  was  only  8ft.  Gin.  long,  4ft.  of  which  was  in  the 
peat,  the  other  4ft.  Gin.  in  the  solid  ground.  The  piles  vary 
from  three  to  five  inches  in  diameter,  and  are  always  round, 
never  having  been  squared.  The  lower  part  is  very  badly 
cut,  so  that  it  is  difiicult  to  understand  how  they  can  have 
been  forced  to  so  great  a  depth  into  the  ground. 

In  most  of  the  Pfahlbauten  the  piles  are  scattered,  more 
or  less  irregularly,  over  the  whole  extent  of  the  settlement ; 
at  Wauwyl  this  is  not  the  case,  but  they  enclose,  as  it  were, 
four  quadrangular  areas,  the  interiors  of  which  are  occupied 
by  several  platforms  one  over  the  other,  the  interstices  being 
filled  up  by  branches,  leaves,  and  peat.  The  objects  of 
antiquity  are  not  scattered  throughout  the  peat,  but  lie 
cither  on  the  layer  of  broken  shells,  which  formed  the  then 


188  WEAPONS    AND    IMPLEMENTS   OF   THE    LAKEMEN. 

bottom  of  tho  lake,  or  in  the  lower  part  of  the  peat.  It 
is,  therefore,  evident  that  almost  the  whole,  if  not  the 
whole,  of  the  peat  has  grown  since  the  time  at  which  this 
interesting  ruin  was  inhabited.  The  upper  part  had, 
however,  been  removed  before  our  arrival,  so  that  the 
"  culturgeschicht,"  the  layer  containing  the  objects  of  anti- 
quity, was  exposed  ready  for  examination  in  the  manner 
already  described. 

Some  of  the  piles  still  stand  two  or  three  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  psat,  but   the   greater  number  are  broken  off 
lower   down.     We   stood  on  one  of  the  upper   platforms, 
which  seems  to  have  been  the  floor  on  which  the  huts  were 
Fig  \ca.  erected,  and  the  beams  of  which  are 

still  perfectly  preserved.  It  was  at 
first  a  question  in  what  manner  the 
platforms  at  this  place  were  sup- 
ported; whether  they  rested  like  a 
r.ift  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  rising 
;■  id  sinking  Math  it*;  or  whether  they 
wore  fixed,  and  rested  on  a  sort  of 
arLificial  island,  formed  by  the  clay^ 
bi-anches,  etc.,  which  now  occupy 
llie  interspaces  between  the  different 
])latforms.  Subsequent  observations, 
however,  confirmed  as  they  have 
been  by  discoveries  elsewhere,  as,  for 
instance,  at  Inkwyl  and  Niederwyl, 
have  decided  the  question  in  favour 
Swiss  stone  Axe.  of  the  latter  hypothesis. 

During  my  visit  at  Wauwyl  we  obtained  four  small  stone 
axes,  one  arrow-head,  four  flint  flakes,  fifteen  rude  stone  ham- 

*  Dwellings  of  this  character  occur       Sumatra,  p.  395.     Squier,  American 
in  the  East  and  in  S.  America.    See,       Naturalist,  vol.  iv.  p.  18. 
for  instance,  Anderson's  Mission  to 


AXES.      KNIVES.  1 89 

mers,  eight  whetstones,  thirty-three  slingstones,  eight  instru- 
ments of  bone,  and  two  of  wood,  besides  numerous  bones,  and 
a  great  quantity  of  broken  pottery.  Col.  Suter  regarded  this 
as  a  fair  average  day's  work.  Altogether  about  500  instru- 
ments of  stone  and  bone  have  been  discovered  at  Wauwyl ; 
at  Moosseedorf  more  than  3300  ;  at  Wangen  no  less  than 
5800,  while  M.  Troyon  estimates  that  those  at  Concise  must 
have  amounted  to  25,000. 

The  axe  was  pre-eminently  the  implement  of  antiquity. 
It  was  used  in  war  and  in  the  chase,  as  well  as  for  domestic 
purposes,  and  great  numbers  have  been  found,  especially  at 
Wangen  (Lake  of  Constance)  and  Concise  (Lake  of  Neuf- 
chatcl).  With  a  few  exceptions,  they  were  small,  especially 
when  compared  with  the  magnificent  specimens  fi'om  Den- 
mark i  in  length  they  varied  from  one  to  six  inches,  while  the 
cuttiug  edge  bad  generally  a  width  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
lines.  Flint  was  sometimes  used,  and  nephrite  or  jade,  in  a 
few  cases,  but  serpentine  and  diorite  were  the  principal  ma- 
terials. Most  of  the  larger  settlements  were  evidently  manu- 
facturing places,  and  many  spoilt  pieces  and  half-finished 
specimens  have  been  found.  After  having  chosen  a  stone, 
the  first  step  was  to  reduce  it  by  blows  with  a  hammer 
to  a  suitable  size.  Then  grooves  were  made  artificially, 
which  must  have  been,  a  very  tedious  and  difficult  operation, 
when  fliut  knives,,  sand,  and  water  were  the  only  available 
instruments.  Having  carried  the  grooves  to  the  required 
depths,  the  projecting  portions  were  removed  .by  a  skilful 
blow  with  a  hammer,  and  the  implement  was  then  sharpened 
and  polished  on  blocks  of  sandstone. 

Tlic  axes  appear  to  have  been  fastened  into  the  handles  by 
means  of  bitumen,  obtained  either  from  the  Val  de  Travers 
near  Neufchatel  or  from  the  Parte  du  Rhone. 

The  stone  knives  may  be  considered  as  of  two  sorts. 
Some  differ  from  the  axes  principally  in  having  their  width 


190 


SAWS.        SPINDLE   WHORLS.       FLAKES. 


greater  than  their  length.  In  other  cases  flint  flakes  were 
set  in  wooden  handles  and  fastened,  like  the  axes,  by  means 
of  bitumen.  Saws  also  (fig.  126)  were  made  in  a  similar 
manner,  but  with  their  edges  somewhat  rudely  dentated;  we 
do  not  find  in  Switzerland  any  of  the  semi-lunar  stone  im- 
plements, which  are  frequent  in  Denmark.  The  arrow-heads 
were  made  of  flint,  or  in  some  cases  of  rock  crystal,  and 
were  of  the  usual  forms.  Spindle  whorls  of  rude  earthen- 
ware (fig.  165)  were  abundant  in  some  of  the  Lake  villages 
even  of  the  Stone  Age.  This  indicates  a  knowledge  of 
weaving,  which,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  is  proved  by  even 
^^°-  "'5-  more  conclusive  evidence.  There  are 

also  found  rounded  stones,  pierced 
with  one  or  sometimes  two  holes. 
The  use  of  these  is  uncertain,  but 
they  may  perhaps  have  been  used  to 
sink  fishing  lines. 

The. flint  flakes  ofier  no  peculiari- 
ties; the  Swiss  specimens  are,  how- 
ever, of  small  size.     Corn-crushers, 
which  are  round  balls  of  hard  stone,  two  or  three  inches  in 
diameter,  occur  even  in  the  villages  of  the  Stone  Age. 
The  list  of  objects  hitherto  found  at  Wauwyl  is  as  follows: 
Stone  axes,  principally  of  serpen- 
tine      43 

Small  flint  arrow-heads       ...       36 

Flint  flakes 200 

Corn-crushers 16 

Eude   stones   used   as   hammers, 

common  (say) 20, 

Whetstones 26 

Slingstones,  etc 85J 


Spindle  Whorl  (Stone  A!?e). 


Not  all 
collected. 


In  all  about .    426  articles  of  stone. 


ARROWHEADS.       IMPLEMENTS   OF    BONE   AND    WOOD.  191 

The  flinty  of  which  the  flakes  and  arrow-heads  were 
formed,  must  have  come  from  a  distance,  and  the  best  pieces 
in  all  probability  were  obtained  from  France.  Visits  may 
have  been  made  to  the  French  quarries,  just  as  Catlin  tells 
us  that  the  American  tribes,  from  far  and  near,  visited  the 
red  pipestone  quarry  of  Coteau  des  Prairies.  A  few  frag- 
ments of  Mediterranean  coral  have  been  found  at  Concise, 
and  of  Baltic  amber  at  Meilen.  Some  archajologists  have 
argued  from  these  facts,  that  there  must  have  been  a  certain 
amount  of  commerce  even  m  the  Stone  Age.  As,  however, 
both  these  settlements  appear  to  have  belonged  to  the  transi- 
tional period  between  the  age  of  Stone  and  that  of  Bronze, 
it  would  be  safer  to  refer  both  the  amber  and  the  coral  to  the 
later  period. 

Like  other  savages,  the  Lake-dwellers  made  the  most 
of  any  animal  they  could  catch.  They  ate  the  flesh,  used 
the  skin  for  clothing,  picked  every  fragment  of  marrow  out 
of  the  bones,  and  then,  in  many  cases,  fashioned  the  bones 
themselves  into  weapons.  The  larger  and  more  compact 
ones,  as  well  as  horns  of  the  deer,  served  as  hammers,  and 
were  used  as  handles  for  hatchets.  In  some  cases,  pieces  of 
bone  were  worked  to  an  edge,  but  they  are  neither  hard  nor 
sharp  enough  to  cut  well.  Bone  awls  are  numerous,  and 
may  have  been  used  in  preparing  skins  for  clothes.  Fig. 
128  (p.  104)  represents  a  chisel  or  scraper  of  bone,  from 
"Wangcn.  One  purpose  for  which  these  were  used  was  no 
doubt  to  scrape  off  the  hair  in  dressing  skins. 

A  few  objects  made  of  wood  have  also  been  found  at 
Wauwyl  and  elsewhere;  but  these,  even  if  originally 
numerous,  would  be  difiicult  to  distinguish  from  the  sur- 
rounding peat,  especially  as  it  contains  so  many  branches  of 
trees  and  other  fragments  of  wood;  and  it  would  also  be 
very  difiicult  to  extract  them  entire.  Perhaps,  therefore, 
implements  of  wood  may  have  been  much  more  varied  and 


192 


POTTERY. 


common  than  the  collections  would  appear  to  indicate.  Tin- 
der has  been  found  in  several  of  the  Lake  villages^  and  was 
no  doubt  used  in  obtaining  fire. 

The  pottery  of  the  Stone  Age  presents  nearly  the  same 
characters  in  all  the  settlements.  Very  rude  and  coarse,  it 
is  generally  found  in  broken  pieces,  and  comparatively  few 
entii'e  vessels  have  been  obtained.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
the  potter's  wheel  was  known,  and  the  baking  is  very  imper- 
fect, having  apparently  taken  place  in  an  open  fire.  The 
material  is  also  very  rude,  and  generally  contains  numerous 
grains  of  quartz.  The  form  is  frequently  cylindrical,  but 
several  of  the  jars  are  rounded  at  the  base,  and  without  feet. 
A  curious  character  is  the  frequent  presence  of  a  row  of  de- 
pressions which  do  not  completely  penetrate  the  thickness  of 
the  vessel;  but  the  commonest  decorations  are  simple  lines 
or  furrows,  made  sometimes  by  a  sharp  instrument,  some- 

FiG.  166. 


Piece  of  Pottery.— Lake  of  Zurich. 

times  by  the  finger-nail  (see  fig.  16C),  and  occasionally  pro- 
duced by  pressing  a  cord  on  the  soft  clay.  Curved  lines  are 
rare;  no  representation  of  any  animal  has  yet  been  met 
with;  and  the  vase  found  at  Wangen,  which  has  been 
figured  both  by  Dr.  Keller  and  by  M.  Troyon,  is  almost  the 
only  instance  in  which  any  attempt  has  been  made  to  repre- 


DRESS. 


193 


sent  a  plant.  In  this  case  the  design  is  ruder  than  might 
be  inferred  from  the  figures  given.  In  some  of  the  Bronze 
Age  villages  rings  of  pottery  are  found,  which  were  evidently 
intended  to  serve  as  supports  for  these  earthenware  tumhlers, 
but  none  of  them  have  yet  been  met  with  in  any  of  the  Stone 
Age  villages.  Possibly  the  earthenware  during  the  Stone 
Age  rested  on  the  soft  earth,  and  tables  were  only  intro- 
duced in  the  Bronze  Age,  when  by  means  of  metallic  imple- 
ments it  became  so  much  easier  to  cut  wood,  and  particularly 
to  make  boards.  Many  of  the  vessels  had  small  projections, 
which  were  pierced  in  such  a  manner  that  strings  might  be 
passed  through  them,  and  which  may,  therefore,  have  served 
for  suspension.  Some  of  the  vessels,  also,  are  pierced  by 
small  holes  at  different  levels ;  it  has  been  suggested  that 
these  may  have  been  used  in  the  preparation  of  curds,  the 


Fig   108. 


Piece  of  Tissue  from  Robenhausen. 

small  holes  being  intended  to  permit  the  escape  of  the  milk. 
The  ornaments  on  the  pottery  belonging  to  this  age  are  of  a 
very  rude  and  simple  character.  Sometimes  a  row  of  knobs 
runs  round  the  vase,  just  below  the  lip ;  this  style  of  orna- 
mentation is  common  on  the  pottery  found  by  M.  Gillieron 
at  the  Pont  de  Thiele. 

Although  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  skins  of  animals 
15  / 


194  THE    FAUNA   OF   THE    LAKE -DWELLINGS. 

supplied  the  ancient  Lakemen  with  their  principal  articles  of 
clothing,  still  in  several  of  the  settlements,  and  especially  at 
Wangen  and  Eobenhausen,  both  of  which  belong  to  the 
Stone  Age,  pieces  of  rude  fabric  (fig.  168)  have  been  found 
in  some  abundance.  They  consist  either  of  flax  fibres  or 
straw.  The  presence  of  spindle-whorls  has  been  already 
mentioned. 

For  our  knowledge  of  the  aoimal  remains  from  the  Pile- 
works  we  are  almost  entirely  indebted  to  Prof.  Piitimeyer, 
who  has  published  two  memoirs  on  the  subject  (Mittheilungen 
der  Antiq.  Gesellschaft  in  Ziirich,  Bd.  xiii.  Abth.  2,  1860; 
and,  more  recently,  a  separate  work.  Die  Fauna  der  Pfahl- 
bauten  in  der  Schweiz,  1861).  The  bones  are  in  a  very 
fragmentary  condition,  and  have  been  broken  open  for  the 
sake  of  the  marrow.  There  is  also  the  same  absence  of 
certain  bones  and  parts  of  bones,  so  that  it  is  impossible 
to  reconstruct  a  perfect  skeleton  even  of  the  commonest 
animal. 

The  total  number  of  species  amounts  to  about  seventy,  of 
which  ten  are  fishes,  four  reptiles,  twenty-six  birds,  and  the 
remainder  quadrupeds.  Of  the  latter,  six  species  may  be 
considered  as  having  been  domesticated;  namely,  the  dog, 
pig,  horse,  goat,  sheep,  and  at  least  two  varieties  of  oxen. 
The  bones  very  seldom  occur  in  a  natural  condition;  but 
those  of  domestic  and  wild  animals  are  mixed  together,  and 
the  state  in  which  they  are  found,  the  marks  of  knives  upon 
them,  and  their  having  been  almost  always  broken  open 
for  the  sake  of  their  marrow,  are  all  evidences  of  human 
interference. 

Two  species,  the  one  wild,  the  other  domestic,  are  especially 
numerous — the  stag  and  the  ox.  Indeed,  the  remains  of  these 
two  equal  those  of  all  the  others  together.  It  is,  however,  an 
interesting  fact,  that  in  the  older  settlements,  as  at  Moossee- 
dorf,  Wauwyl,  and  Robenhausen,  the  stag  exceeds  the  ox  in 


MOOSSEEDORP.  •       195 

the  number  of  specimens  indicated,  while  the  reverse  is  the 
case  in  the  more  modern  settlements  of  the  western  lakes,  as, 
for  instance,  those  at  Wangen  and  Meilen. 

Next  to  these  in  order  of  abundance  is  the  hog.  Less 
numerous  again,  and  generally  represented  by  single  speci- 
mens where  the  preceding  occur  in  numbers,  are  the  roe,  the 
goat,  and  the  sheep,  which  latter  is  most  abundant  in  the 
later  settlements.  With  these  rank  the  fox  and  the  martens. 
Foxes  are  occasionally  eaten  by  the  Esquimaux*,  Captain 
Lyon  seems  to  have  taken  rather  a  fancy  to  themf,  and 
Franklin  assures  us  that  fox  is  better  than  lean  venison  J. 
They  also  appear,  whether  from  choice  or  necessity,  to  have 
been  eaten  during  the  Stone  period.  This  conclusion  is  de- 
rived from  the  fact  that  the  bones  often  present  the  marks 
of  knives,  and  have  been  opened  for  the  sake  of  the  marrow. 
While,  however,  the  fox  is  very  frequent  in  the  Pileworks  of 
the  Stone  epoch,  it  has  not  yet  been  found  in  any  settlement 
belonging  to  the  Bi'onze  period.  Oddly  enough,  the  dog  is 
rarer  than  the  fox,  at  least  as  far  as  the  observations  yet  go, 
in  the  Lake-dwellings  of  the  Stone  period,  though  more  com- 
mon than  the  horse;  and  of  other  species  but  few  specimens 
have  been  met  with,  though  in  some  localities  the  beaver,  the 
badger,  and  the  hedgehog  appear  in  some  numbers.  The 
bear  and  the  wolf,  as  well  as  the  urus,  the  bison,  and  the  elk, 
seem  to  have  occasionally  been  captured;  it  is  probable  that 
the  latter  species  were  taken  in  concealed  pits. 

From  the  small  lake  at  Moosseedorf,  M.  Eutimeyer  has 
identified  the  following  list : — Of  the  dog,  three  specimens ; 
fox,  four  specimens ;  beaver,  five  specimens ;  roe,  six  speci- 
mens ;  goat  and  sheep,  ten  specimens ;  cow,  sixteen  speci- 
mens; hog,  twenty  specimens;  stag,  twenty  specimens.  It 
is  certainly  very  striking  to  find  two  wild  species  represented 

*  Crantz,   History  of  Greenland,  t  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  77. 

vol.  L  p.  73.  X  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  pp.  219-239. 


196  THE    FAUNA. 

by  the  greatest  number  of  specimens^  and  particularly  so^ 
since  tbis  is  no  exceptional  case;  but  the  whole  sum  of  the 
wild  exceeds  that  of  the  domesticated  individuals,  a  result 
moreover,  which  holds  good  in  other  settlements  of  this 
epoch.  Not  only  does  this  indicate  a  great  antiquity,  but 
also  that  the  population  must  have  been  sometimes  sub- 
jected to  great  privations,  partly  from  the  unavoidable 
uncertainty  of  supplies  so  obtained,  partly  because  it  is  im- 
probable that  foxes  would  have  been  eaten  except  under  the 
pressure  of  hunger. 

The  bones  of  the  stag  and  the  wild  boar  often  indicate 
animals  of  an  unusual  magnitude,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  fox  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  smaller  than  at  present. 
The  dogs  varied  less  than  they  do  now;  in  fact  they  all  belong 
to  one  variety,  which  was  of  middle  size,  and  appears  to  have 
resembled  our  present  beagles.  (M.  Riitimeyer  describes  it 
as  "resembling  the  Jagdhund"  and  the  " Wachtelhund.'^) 
The  sheep  of  the  Stone  period  differed  from  the  ordinary  form 
in  its  small  size,  fine  legs,  and  short  goat-like  horns ;  par- 
ticulars in  which  it  is  nearly  resembled  by  some  northern 
and  mountain  varieties  at  the  present  day,  as,  for  instance, 
by  the  small  sheep  of  the  Shetlands,  Orkneys,  Welsh  hills, 
and  parts  of  the  Alps.  At  Wauwyl,  however,  M.  Rutimeyer 
found  traces  of  an  individual  with  large  horns.  Our  know- 
ledge of  the  wild  species  of  sheep  is  so  deficient,  that  M. 
Eiitimeyer  does  not  venture  to  express  any  opinion  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  domestic  varieties,  but  his  present 
impression  is  that  they  will  eventually  be  traced  up  to  several 
wild  races. 

In  his  first  memoir.  Prof.  Rutimeyer  gives  an  interesting 
table,  which,  with  some  additions  which  I  owe  to  his  kind 
courtesv,  is  here  subjoined,  the  relative  frequency  being 
indicated  by  numerals : 

1  denotes  a  single  individual ; 


THE    FAUNA. 


197 


2  indicates  that  the  remains  of  several  individuals 

have  been  met  with; 

3  the  species  which  are  common ; 

4  those  which  are  very  common ;  and  lastly, 

5  those  which  are  present  in  great  number. 


LI8T   OF    SPECIES. 


1  Ursus  Arctos 

2  Meles  vulgaris  

3  Mustela  Foina    

4  „        Martes  

5  „        Putoriua 

6  „         Erminea.... 

7  „        Lutra  vulgaris   

8  Canis  Lupus  

9  „      familiaris  (palastris). 

10  „      Vulpes 

11  Fclis  Catus  (ferus)   

12  Eriuaceus  europaeus     

13  Castor  Fiber 

14  Sciurus  europaaus 

15  Mus  sylvaticus  

16  Lepus  timidus   

17  Sus  Scro fa  ferus    

18  „    Palustris 

19  ,,    Scrofa  domesticus 

20  Equus  Caballus 

21  Cervus  Alces 

22  „       Elaphus  

23  „       Capreolus 

24  Capra  Ibex    

25  „     Hircus  

26  Ovis  Aries 

27  Antilopc  rupicapra  

28  Bos  priinigenius    

29  „     Bison  

30  „    Taurus  primigeniua  

31  „    Taurus  brachyccros 

32  „    Taurus  frontosus  


2 
3 
2 
1 
3 
2 

i 

3 

5 

1 
1 
5 

4 

2 
2 

2 
1 
2 
5 


2 
3 
3 
3 
1 

2 
1 
2 
3 
1 
3 
3 
2 
2 
1 
4 
3 

2 
2 
5 

4 

2 
2 
1 
3 
4 
5 
2 


34 
34 


The  almost  entire  absence  of  the  hare  is  doubtless  owing 
to  the  curious  prejudice  which  was  and  is  entertained  by 
many  races  against  the  flesh  of  this  animal.  It  was  never 
eaten  by  the  ancient  Britons,  and  is  avoided  by  the  LajDps  at 


198  BIRDS. 

the  present  day.  According  to  Burton*  tlie  Somal  Arabs 
will  not  toucli  it^  and  M.  Schlegel  also  states  tliat  the  preju- 
dice against  it  existed  among  the  ancient  Chinese  f.  Among 
the  Hottentots  it  was  eaten  by  the  women,  but  was  forbidden 
to  men  J.  It  was  regarded  as  unclean  by  the  Jews,  being 
erroneously  supposed  to  chew  the  cud.  According  to  Crantz, 
the  Greenlanders  §,  if  in  want,  will  eat  foxes  rather  than  hares. 
Finally,  its  remains  do  not  occur  in  the  Danish  shell-mounds. 
The  birds  which  have  been  discovered  are  : — 

Aquila  fulva.     The  golden  eagle.     At  Robenhausen. 

Aquila  haligetus.  A  single  bone  found  at  Moosseedorf 
is  rather  doubtfully  referred  to  this  species  by 
M.  Riitimeyer. 

Falco  milvus.     Robenhausen. 

Falco  palumbarius.     Wauwyl,  Moosseedorf. 

Falco  nisus.     Moosseedorf. 

Falco  buteo.     Moosseedorf,  Robenhausen. 

Strix  aluco.     Concise. 

Strix  otus. 

Sturnus  vulgaris.     Robenhausen. 

Corvus  corone. 

Corvus  corax. 

Cinclus  aquations. 

Columba  palumbus.  ,,  Moosseedorf. 

Tetrao  bonasia. 

Tetrao  lagopus.     Moosseedorf. 

Ciconia  alba.  Not  unfrequent  atMoosseedorf and  Robenh. 

Ardea  cinerea.     Robenhausen. 

Grus  cinerea. 

Fulica  atra.  „ 

Larus.     Two  sp.  „ 

*  First  Footsteps,  p.  155.  %  Le  Vaillant,  Voyages  dans  I'Af- 

f  Notes    and   Queries   on   China,       rique,  vol.  iv.  p.  187. 
Japan,  Hongkong,  May,  1868.  §  History  of  Greenland,  p.  73. 


MOUSE.       CAT.      ASS.  199 

Cygnus  olor.    Robenliausen. 

Anser  segetum.  „ 

Anas  boschas.     Robenliausen,  Moosseedorf,  Wauwyl. 

Anas  querquedula.        „  „ 

Podiceps  minor.     Robeiihausen. 

Mergus  merganser.         „ 
The  reptiles  and  fishes  are  represented  by  about  ten  of  our 
commonest  species. 

The  common  mouse  and  our  two  house-rats,  as  well  as  the 
domestic  cat,  are  absent  from  the  Lake-habitations  of  Switzer- 
land, as  also  from  the  Kjokkenmoddings  of  Denmark;  the 
same  is  the  case  with  the  common  fowl,  which  seems,  more^ 
over,  to  have  been  unknown  to  Homer  and  Hcsiod;  Prof. 
Riitimeyer  attributes  to  a  later  period  a  single  bone  of  the 
latter  bird  which  was  found  at  Merges,  a  settlement  belong- 
ing to  the  Bronze  period. 

The  earliest  remains  of  the  ass  mentioned  by  Prof.  RiitiT 
meyer  are  those  found  at  Chavannes  and  NoviUc,  which, 
however,  were  not  connected  with  Pfahlbauten,  and  be- 
longed to  post-Roman  times.  In  the  Bible  the  ass  is  first 
mentioned  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  who  had  "  sheep,  and 
oxen,  and  he-asses,  and  men-servants,  and  maid-servants^ 
and  she-asses,  and  camels*.^'  It  will  be  observed  that 
in  this  enumeration  no  mention  is  made  of  horses.  Laban, 
again,  had  sheep,  and  goats,  and  cattle,  and  camels,  and 
asses,  but  apparently  no  horses.  Again,  the  present  which 
Jacob  sent  to  Esau  consisted  of  two  hundred  she-goats 
and  twenty  he-goats,  two  hundred  ewes  and  twenty  rams, 
thirty  milch  camels  with  their  colts,  forty  kiue  and  ten 
bulls,  twenty  she-asses  and  ten  foals  f.  Indeed,  no  mention 
whatever  is  made  of  horses  until  the  children  of  Israel  went 
into  Egypt;  and  from  the  copious  and  interesting  details  of 
their  pastoral  life,  we  may  feel  sure  that  horses  would  have 

•  Gen.  xii.  16.  f  Gen.  xxxiii.  14. 


200  HORSE.      BOAR. 

been  alluded  to  if  the  Hebrews  had  possessed  them.  As 
regards  Egypt^  the  horse  is  not  represented  on  any  of  the 
monuments  anterior  to  the  18th  dynasty,  after  which,  however, 
it  appears  to  have  become  abundant  in  that  country. 

As  regards  the  Swiss  Lake-villages,  it  is  singular,  that 
though  remains  of  the  horse  have  been  found  in  all  the  Pile- 
works,  they  are  so  rare  that  their  presence  may  almost  be 
considered  accidental :  thus,  Wangen  has  only  produced  a 
single  tooth;  Moosseedorf,  a  metatarsal  bone,  which  has 
been  polished  on  one  side;  Robenhausen,  a  single  Os  navi- 
culare  tarsi;  and  Wauwyl,  only  a  few  bones,  which  may  all 
have  belonged  to  a  single  individual.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  we  come  to  the  Bronze  period,  we  find  at  Nidau 
numerous  bones  of  this  species;  so  that,  as  far  as  these 
slight  indications  go,  the  horse,  even  if  present  in  the  Stone 
Age,  seems  to  have  been  rarer  than  at  subsequent  periods. 
All  the  remains  of  this  animal  belonged  apparently  to  the 
domestic  horse  (Eguus  caballus),  while  those  which  occur  in 
the  Drift  gravel  beds  and  in  caves  fall  into  two  well-marked 
races,  named  by  Prof.  Owen,  E.  fossilis  and  E.  speleeus. 

Though  he  refers  some  bones  to  the  wild  boar,  and  others 
to  the  domestic  hog,  yet  Prof.  Riitimeyer  considers  that  the 
greatest  number  of  the  remains  of  this  genus  belong  to  a  dif- 
ferent race,  which  he  calls  Sus  palustris.  This  variety  was, 
in  'his  opinion,  less  powerful  and  dangerous  than  the  wild 
boar,  the  tusks  being  much  smaller  in  proportion ;  in  fact, 
he  describes  it  as  having,  with  the  molar  teeth  of  an  ordi- 
nary full-grown  wild  boar,  premolars,  canines,  and  incisors 
resembling  those  of  a  young  domestic  hog.  He  considers 
that  all  the  bones  of  this  variety  from  Moosseedorf  belonged 
to  wild  individuals,  while  of  those  from  Nidau,  Robenhausen, 
Wauwyl,  and  Concise,  some  bear,  in  his  opinion,  evidences 
of  domestication.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  naturalists 
that  this  variety  was  founded  only  on  female  specimens,  but 


SUS    PALTJSTRIS.  201 

in  liis  last  work  Prof.  Riitimeyer  combats  this  opinion  at  sotne 
length,  and  gives  copious  descriptions  and  measurements  of 
the  different  parts.  He  also  points  out  numerous  sexual 
differences  in  the  Sus  palustris,  of  the  same  nature,  but  not 
so  well  marked,  as  those  of  the  wild  boar.  Relying  also  on 
its  well-defined  geographical  and  historical  range,  he  denies 
that  it  can  be  considered  as  a  cross  between  the  wild  boar 
and  domestic  hog,  or  that  the  differences  which  separate 
it  from  the  former  can  be  looked  upon  as  mere  individual 
peculiarities.  He  considers,  indeed,  that  as  a  wild  animal 
it  became  extinct  at  a  very  early  period,  though  the  tame 
swine  of  India,  which  agree  closely  with  this  race,  may  perhaps 
have  descended  from  it. 

M.  Schiitz,  on  the  contrary,  regards  the  Sus  palustris  as 
derived  from  the  Sus  sennariensis,  which  still  exists  in  central 
Africa,  and  does  not  think  that  it  ever  inhabited  Switzerland 
in  a  wild  state*.  He  moreover  points  out  that  the  skulls  of 
this  animal  found  in  the  later  Pfahlbauten  differ  considerably 
from  those  in  the  earlier  ones,  showing  clearly  the  influence 
of  domestication,  and  affording  an  additional  indication  that 
between  the  foundation  of  the  earlier  and  later  Lake-villages, 
a  considerable  period  must  have  elapsed. 

Our  domestic  hog  first  makes  its  appearance  in  the  later 
Pileworks,  as,  for  instance,  at  Concise.  Prof.  Riitimeyer  does 
not,  however,  believe  that  it  was  tamed  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Switzerland,  but  is  rather  disposed  to  look  upon  it  as  having 
been  introduced  during  the  Bronze  Age,  and  the  more  so,  as 
he  also  finds  at  Concise  traces  ot  an  ox  {B.  troclwceros)  which 
does  not  occur  in  the  earlier  Pileworks. 

The  discovery  of  dung  among  the  remains  of  the  Pfahl- 
bauten sufficiently  proves  that  the  Lake-dwellers  had  domestic  " 
animals,  but  there  are  also  other  indications  from  which  we 
may  draw  the  same  conclusion 

*  Zur  Kcnntniss  dcs  Torfschweins.     Berlin,  1868,  p.  44. 


202 


COMPARISON  OP  THE  BONES  BELONGING  TO 


In  endeavouring  to  ascertain  whether  any  given  bones 
belonged  to  a  wild  or  domesticated  animal,  wo  must  be 
guided  bj  the  following  considerations  :  the  number  of  indi- 


Fio.  169. 


Part  of  the  Vertebra  of  a  Cow. 
Fig.  iro. 


Part  of  the  corresponding  Vertebra  of  the  Bison. 

viduals  represented ;  the  relative  proportions  of  young  and 
old;  the  absence  or  presence  of  very  old  individuals,  at  least 


WILD    AND   DOMESTICATED    RACES.  203 

in  the  case  of  species  that  served  for  food;  the  traces  of 
long,  though  indirect,  selection,  in  diminishing  the  size  of 
any  natural  weapons  which  might  be  injurious  to  man ;  the 
direct  action  of  man  during  the  life  of  the  animal ;  and, 
finally,  the  texture  and  condition  of  the  bones. 

Applying  these  considerations  to  the  Sus  palustris  from 
Moosseedorf,  it  is  evident,  says  Prof.  Riitimeyer,  firstly,  that 
the  argument  derivable  from  the  number  of  young  specimens 
loses  much  of  its  force  on  account  of  the  great  fertility  of  the 
sow,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  young  can  be  found  and 
destroyed ;  secondly,  in  the  number  of  individuals  repre- 
sented, it  is  equalled  by  the  stag,  which  certainly  was  never 
domesticated;  thirdly,  some  bones  of  very  old  individuals 
have  been  found,  and  some  of  very  young,  even  of  unborn 
pigs ;  the  smallness  of  the  tusks  is,  according  to  Prof.  Riiti- 
meyer, a  characteristic  of  the  race,  and  not  an  evidence  of 
domestication;  the  bones  are  of  a  firm  and  close  texture,  and 
the  only  cases  of  decay  have  arisen  from  an  extreme  degrada- 
tion of  the  teeth,  which  would  certainly  be  unlikely  to  occur 
in  a  domestic  animal.  Finally,  none  of  the  teeth  show  traces 
of  any  filing  or  other  preparation,  except  such  as  may  have 
taken  place  after  the  death  of  the  animal;  from  all  which 
reasons  Prof.  Riitimeyer  therefore  infers  that  the  inhabitants 
of  Moosseedorf  had  not  yet  succeeded  in  taming  either  the 
Sus  scrofa  palustris  or  the  Sus  scrofa  ferus. 

Prof.  Riitimeyer  has  paid  great  attention  to  the  texture 
and  condition  of  the  bones  themselves,  and  believes  that  he 
can,  in  many  cases,  from  these  alone  distinguish  the  species, 
and  even  determine  whether  the  bone  belonged  to  a  wild  or 
a  domesticated  animal. 

In  wild  animals  the  bones  are  of  a  firmer  and  closer  tex- 
ture; there  is  an  indescribable,  but  to  the  accustomed  eye 
very  characteristic,  sculpturing  of  the  external  surface,  pro- 
duced by  the  sharper  and  more  numerous  impressions  ofvessels. 


204  OXEN. 

and  the  greater  rougliness  of  the  surfaces  for  the  attachment 
of  muscles  There  is  also  an  exaggeration  of  all  projections 
and  ridges,  and  a  diminution  of  all  indifferent  surfaces.  The 
contrast  thus  produced  will  be  seen  from  figs.  169  and  170, 
the  first  of  which  represents  a  portion  of  a  vertebra  belonging 
to  a  domestic  cow,  the  second  the  corresponding  surface  of 
the  same  bone  from  the  bison.  In  the  consideration  of 
the  remains  of  oxen,  these  distinctions  have  proved  of  the 
greatest  importance.  By  their  assistance.  Prof.  Riitimeyer 
has  convinced  himself  that  besides  the  two  wild  species  of 
bos,  namely,  the  urus  {B.  jprimigenius)  and  the  aurochs  [B. 
bison  or  Bison  Europceus),  four  principal  races  of  domestic 
oxen  occur  in  the  Lake-villages*. 

The  first  of  these,  the  Primigenius  race,  closely  resembles 
the  Urus  or  Bos  primigenius,  and  was  no  doubt  descended 
from  it.  It  occurs  in  all  the  earlier  Pileworks,  and  in*the 
present  day  is  best  represented  by  the  wild  cattle  of  Chil- 
lingham,  and  the  great  oxen  of  Friesland,  Jutland,  and 
Holstein. 

The  second,  or  TrocJioceros  race,  resembles  a  fossil  form 
first  observed  in  the  diluvium  of  Arezzo  and  Siena,  and 
described  by  F.  von  Meyer.  It  has  not  hitherto  been  found 
in  any  of  the  Stone  Age  villages.  E-iitimeyer  regards  it  as 
scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  urus,  and  observes  that  its 
peculiarities  are  principally,  though  not  exclusively,  developed 
in  the  female  sex. 

The  third,  or  Frontosus  race,  occurs  but  sparingly  in  the 
older  Pfahlbauten;  becomes  more  frequent  in  the  Bronze 
Age  villages,  and  prevails  at  the  present  day  in  northern 
Switzerland.  Prof.  Riitimeyer  considers  this  variety  also  as 
derived  from  the  urus,  and  remarks  that  while  the  wild  cattle 
of  Chillingham  are  true  to  the  primigenius  form,  some  of 
the  Lyme  Park  cattle  approach  to  the  frontosus  type.     He 

*  Ar.  fiir  Anthropologie,  1866,  p.  219. 


ABSENCE    OP    EXTINCT    SPECIES.  205 

has,  however,  never  seen  a  skull  of  this  type  belonging  to  an 
undoubtedly  wild  animal. 

The  fourth  is  the  Lonjifrons  or  Brachyceros  race.  The 
name  Brachyceros,  by  which  it  was  at  first  known,  must  be 
abandoned,  because  it  had  been  previously  applied  by  Dr, 
Gray  to  an  African  ox.  This  variety  is  extremely  abundant 
in  all  the  Pfahlbauton.  Prof.  Riitimeyer  regards  it  as  de- 
scended, not  from  the  urus,  but  from  a  second  and  smaller 
species.  He  remarks,  however,  that  if  it  is  derived  from  the 
urus,  it  is  at  least  a  more  distinct,  and  must  be  an  older 
variety  than  any  of  the  preceding.  Prof.  Riitimeyer  admits 
that  we  have  no  evidence  that  B.  longifrons  ever  existed  in 
a  wild  state  in  Central  Europe. 

M.  de  Quatrefages*  considers  that  all  our  domestic  oxen 
are  descendants  of  the  urus ;  while  Mr.  Darwin  f  regards  B. 
lon'gifrons  and  B.  frontosus  as  the  modern  representatives  of 
wild  ancestors,  specifically  distinct  from  B.  primigenius,  and 
concludes  therefore  that  our  "  domestic  cattle  are  almost 
certainly  the  descendants  of  more  than  one  wild  form." 

Mr.  Boyd  Dawkins  has  recently  {  shown  that  as  far  as 
this  country  is  concerned,  we  have  no  conclusive  evidence  of 
more  than  two  species  of  "w41d  oxen,  namely,  the  urus  and  the 
bison.  The  smaller  varieties  appear  to  have  been  introduced 
as  domesticated  animals,  and  do  not  go  back  beyond  the 
Neolithic  period.  According  to  Nilsson,  on  the  contrary, 
both  the  Bos  frontosus  and  B.  longifrons  inhabited  Sweden 
as  wild  races  §.  My  own  impression  is  that  the  urus  was 
domesticated  in  Europe,  but  also  that  some  at  least  of  the 
early  settlers  brought  domestic  cattle  with  them,  and  these 
may  very  probably  have  belonged  to  a  distinct  wild  race. 

*  Rev.   des    Cours    Scientifiques,  J  Boyd  Dawkins,  Geol.  Jonr.  1867, 

1868,  p.  563.  p.  182. 

t  Animals  and  Plants  under  Do-  §  Ann.  and  Mag.  of  Nat.  His.  1849, 

mestication,  vol.  i.  p.  81.  pp.  349-351. 


206  ABSENCE    OF    EXTINCT    SPECIES.      AUROCHS. 

Further  evidence^  however,  is  much  needed  on  this  interest- 
ing subject. 

Making  allowance  then  for  the  marine  animals,  such  as 
seals,  fish,  oysters,  cockles,  whelks,  etc.,  which  we  could 
not  expect  to  find  so  far  away  from  the  sea,  the  fauna 
indicated  by  the  remains  found  in  the  Swiss  lakes  agrees 
remarkably  with  that  which  characterizes  the  Danish  Kjok- 
keumoddings,  so  far  as  wild  animals  are  concerned,  and 
belongs  evidently  to  a  far  later  age  than  that  of  the  cele- 
brated stone  hatchets,  which  were  first  made  known  to  us  by 
the  genius  and  perseverance  of  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes. 

Instead  of  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros  we  find  in  the  Neo- 
lithic or  second  Stone  period — in  that,  namely,  of  the  Kjok- 
kenmoddings  and  "  Pfahlbauten  " — the  urus  and  bison,  the 
elk  and  the  red  deer  already  installed  as  monarchs  of  the 
forest.  Even  the  reindeer  is  altogether  absent.  The  red 
deer  on  the  contrary,  and  the  boar,  appear  to  have  been 
very  frequent,  and  to  have  formed  a  most  important  article 
of  food  to  the  Lake-dwellers.  The  urus,  or  great  fossil  ox,  is 
now  altogether  extinct,  at  least  as  a  wild  species*.  It  is 
mentioned  by  Caesar,  who  describes  it  as  being  little  smaller 
than  an  elephant.  (Hi  sunt  magnitudine  paulo  infra  ele- 
phantos  specie  et  colore  et  figura  tauri).  According  to 
Herberstein,  it  still  existed  in  Germany  during  the  sixteenth 
century,  soon  after  which,  however,  it  must  have  become 
extinct. 

The  aurochs,  or  European  bison,  seems  to  have  disappeared 
from  Western  Europe  at  about  the  same  period  as  the  urus. 
There  is  no  historical  record  of  its  existence  in  England  or 
Scandinavia.  In  Switzerland  we  cannot  trace  it  later  than 
the  tenth  century;  but  it  is  mentioned  in  the  "  Niebelungen 

*  Prof.  Riitimeyer,  as  I  have  al-  Park  are  unmistakable,  though 
ready  mentioned,  considers  that  the  dwarfish,  descendants  of  the  B. 
celebrated  wild  cattle  of  Tankerville       primigenius. 


ELK.       IBEX.  207 

Lied/'  of  the  twelfth  century,  as  occurrmg  in  the  Forest  of 
Worms,  and  in  Prussia  the  last  was  killed  in  the  year  1775. 
At  one  period,  indeed,  it  appears  to  have  inhabited  almost 
the  whole  of  Europe,  much  of  Asia,  and  part  even  of  America, 
but  at  present  it  is  confined  in  Europe  to  the  imperial  forests 
in  Lithuania,  where  it  is  preserved  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia; 
while,  according  to  Nordmann  and  Von  Baer,  it  still  exists  in 
some  parts  of  Western  Asia. 

We  have  no  notice  of  the  existence  of  the  elk  in  Switzer- 
land during  the  historical  period,  but  it  is  mentioned  by 
Caesar  as  existing  in  the  great  Hercynian  forest;  and  even 
in  the  twelfth  century  it  was  to  be  met  with  in  Sclavonia 
and  Hungary,  according  to  Albcrtus  Magnus  and  Gesner.  In 
Saxony,  the  death  of  the  last  is  recorded  as  having  occurred 
in  1746.  At  present  it  inhabits  Prussia  and  Lithuania,  Fin- 
land and  Russia,  Scandinavia  and  Siberia,  to  the  shores  of 
the  Amoor. 

Tlie  ibex  disappeared  from  most  of  the  Swiss  Alps,  perhaps 
not  much  later  than  the  elk.  It  has  lingered  longest  in  the 
West.  In  Glarus  the  last  one  perished  in  1550,  though  near 
Chiavenna  it  existed  until  the  commencement  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  in  the  Tyrol  until  the  second  half  of  the 
eighteenth,  while  a  few  still  exist  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mont  Iseran,  where  they  are  protected  by  the  King  of  Italy. 

The  extermination  of  the  bear,  like  that  of  the  ibex,  seems 
to  have  begun  in  the  East,  and  is  not  yet  complete,  since 
this  animal  still  occurs  in  the  Jura  and  the  Grisons,  whence 
it  occasionally  visits  the  Yalais,  and  the  south-eastern  parts 
of  Switzerland.  The  fox,  the  otter,  and  the  different  species 
of  weasels,  are  still  the  common  carnivora  of  Switzerland, 
and  the  wild  cat,  the  badger,  and  the  wolf,  still  occur  in  the 
Jura  and  the  Alps,  the  latter  in  cold  winters  venturing  even 
into  the  plains.  The  beaver,  on  the  contrary,  has  at  last 
disappeared.    It  had  long  been  very  rare  in  Switzerland,  but 


208  GENERAL   CHAEACTEE 

n.  few  survived  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  in 
Lucerne  and  Valais.  Red  deer  were  abundant  in  the  Jura 
and  Black  Forest  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries, 
though  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  so  large  as  those 
which  lived  in  earlier  times.  The  last  was  shot  in  the 
canton  of  Basle,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
while  in  western  Switzerland  and  Valais  they  lingered  some- 
what longer.     The  roedeer  still  occurs  in  some  places. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  animals  of  the  Swiss  Pile- 
works  belong  to  the  fauna,  which  has  occupied  Europe  from 
the  commencement  of  the  Palseolithic  period  down  to  the 
present  time. 

While,  however,  we  must  regard  the  fauna  of  the  Stone 
Age  as  belonging  to  the  same  great  zoological  epoch  with 
that  of  the  river  drift  gravels  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  pre- 
sent time  on  the  other,  we  cannot  forget  that  the  immense 
period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  end  of  the  tertiary  period 
has  produced  great  changes  in  the  fauna  of  Europe.  In  this 
post-tertiary  era  the  Pileworks  occupy,  so  to  say,  the  middle 
position.  Distinguished  from  the  present  fauna  of  Switzer- 
land by  the  possession  of  the  urus,  the  bison,  the  elk,  the 
stag,  and  the  wild  boar,  as  well  as  by  the  more  general 
distribution  of  the  beaver,  the  bear,  the  ibex,  etc.,  their 
fauna  differs  from  that  of  the  drift  gravels  in  the  absence  of 
the  mammoth,  the  rhinoceros,  the  musk  ox,  the  cave  hyaena, 
and  the  reindeer. 

Prof.  Riitimeyer  thinks  that  from  similar  considerations 
alone,  even  if  we  had  no  other  evidence,  we  might  carry  this 
division  farther;  and  if  we  take  the  settlements  at  Moossee- 
dorf,  Wauwyl,  Robenhausen,  and  Nidau,  which  have  been  the 
most  carefully  studied  in  this  respect,  it  certainly  appears 
that  the  three  former,  which  belong  to  the  Stone  Age,  offer  a 
marked  contrast  to  the  latter,  which  is  the  locality  whence  the 
largest  number  of  bronze  objects  has  as  yet  been  obtained. 


OP   THE    FAUNA.  209 

It  is  of  course  unnecessary  to  point  out  the  interest  and 

importance    of  such  a  distinction,    which   accords    so  well 

with  that  indicated  by  the  study  of  the  weapons  and  the 

state  of  preservation  of  the  piles.     Thus,  the  urus  has  only 

occurred  at  Moosseedorf,  Wauwyl,  Robenhausen,  Waugcn, 

and  Concise ;   the  •  aurochs   only  at  Moosseedorf,  Wauwyl, 

and  Robenhausen ;  the  bear  only  at  Moosseedorf,  Wauwyl, 

Robenhausen,  Wangen,  and  Concise.     A  glance  at  the  table 

given  at  page  192  will  show  that  several  other  species  have 

• 
as  yet  only  occurred  at  Moosseedorf  and  Robenhausen;   a 

fact,  however,  which  indicates,  perhaps,  rather  the  richness 
than  the  antiquity  of  these  localities.  Possibly  we  may 
consider  the  presence  of  these  larger  species  as  an  indication 
of  theii'  greater  abundance  in  the  oldest  period;  but  we  must 
not  forget  that  not  only  the  bear  and  the  elk.  but  also  the 
aurochs  and  the  urus  appear  at  a  comparatively  late  period. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  abundance  of  wild  animals,  and  the 
fact  that  at  Moosseedorf  and  Wauwyl  the  fox  was  more 
abundant  than  the  dog,  while  elsewhere  the  reverse  is  the 
case,  certainly  speak  in  favour  of  the  greater  antiquity  of  these 
two  settlements. 

The  evidence  derived  from  the  distribution  of  the  domestic 
animals,  is,  perhaps,  more  satisfactory.  The  sheep  is  present 
even  at  Moosseedorf,  though  not  so  numerous  as  at  Nidau. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  horse  is  frequent  at  Nidau,  while  at 
Moosseedorf  only  a  single  bone  of  this  animal  was  discovered, 
in  a  different  condition  from  that  of  the  other  bones,  and 
probably  more  recent.  Finally,  the  domestic  hog  of  the 
present  race  is  absent  from  all  the  Pileworks  of  the  Stone 
period,  excepting  the  one  at  Wauwyl,  and  becomes  frequent 
only  at  Nidau.  The  following  table  shows  the  proportions 
of  wild  and  tame  animals  at  Wauwyl,  Moosseedorf,  as  repre- 
senting the  Age  of  Stone,  and  at  Nidau,  as  perhaps  the  best 
illustration  of  that  of  Bronze.  1  represents  a  single  indi- 
16 


210 


COMPARISON    OP    THE    DIFFERENT   LAKE   VILLAGES. 


vidua!;  2,  several;  d,  the  species  whicli  are  common;  4,  those 
whicli  are  very  common;  and  5^  those  which  are  present  in 
large  numbers. 


Wild  Animals. 
Brown  Bear 

Wauwyl. 

Moosseedorf. 

Nidau. 

2 
2 
3 
3 

2 
1 
3 

2 
2 

1 

i 

5 
2 

2 

5 

?1 
2 
5 

2 

1 
2 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

3 
2 
3 
1 
1 
1 
5 
4 
3 

5 

?'i 

5 

2 

2 
2 

... 
5 

3 

3 
3 
5 
3 

4 
3 

Bado^er  

Marten 

Pine  Marten 

Polecat 

Wolf 

Fox    

Wild  Cat  

Beaver  

Elk  

Urus 

Bison 

Stag  

Eoe  Deer  

Wild  Boar 

Marsli  Boar*    

Domestic  Animals. 
Domestic  Boar     

Horse     

Ox 

Goat 

Sheep    

DoK    

If  succeeding  investigations  conJBrm  the  conclusions  thus 
indicated^  we  may  infer  that  the  domestic  animals^  which 
were  comparatively  rare  in  the  Stone  period,  became  more 
frequent  after  the  introduction  of  bronze;  a  change  which 
indicates  and  perhaps  produced  an  alteration  of  habits  on  the 
part  of  the  inhabitants. 

Rare,  indeed,  as  they  may  have  been,  oxen,  horses,  sheep, 
and  goats  could  not  be  successfully  kept  through  the  winter 
in  the  climate  of  Switzerland,  without  stores  of  provisions 
and  some  sort  of  shelter.  A  pastoral  people,  therefore,  must 
have  reached  a  higher  grade  than  a  mere  nation  of  hunters. 


*  Considered  by  Prof.  Kutimeyer      mesticated  at  Nidau  and  in  the  later 
to  have  been  at  first  wild,  but  do-      Pfahlbauten, 


THE   FLORA   OF   THE    PPAHLBAUTEN.  211 

We  know,  moreover,  in  anotlicr  way,  that  at  this  period 
agriculture  was  not  entirely  unknown.  This  is  proved  in 
the  most  unexpected  manner,  by  the  discovery  of  carbonized 
cereals  at  various  points.  Wheat  is  most  common,  having 
been  discovered  at  Meilcn,  Moosseedorf,  and  Wangen.  At 
the  latter  place,  indeed,  many  bushels  of  it  were  found,  the 
grains  being  united  in  large  thick  lumps.  In  other  cases  the 
grains  are  free,  and  without  chaff,  resembhng  our  present 
wheat  in  size  and  form,  while  more  rarely  they  are  still  in 
the  car.  Ears  of  the  Hordeum  hexastichon  L.  (the  six-rowed 
barley)  are  somewhat  numerous.  This  species  differs  from 
the  H.  vulgare  L.  in  the  number  of  rows  and  in  the  smaller 
size  of  the  grains.  According  to  De  Candolle,  it  was  the 
species  generally  cultivated  by  the  Ancient  Greeks,  Romans, 
and  Egyptians.  In  the  ears  from  Wangen,  each  row  has 
generally  ten  or  eleven  grains,  which,  however,  are  smaller 
and  shorter  than  those  now  grown. 

Tliree  varieties  of  wheat  were  cultivated  by  the  Lake- 
dwellers,  who  also  possessed  two  kinds  of  barley,  and  two  of 
millet.  Of  these  the  most  ancient  and  most  important  were 
the  small  six-rowed  barley  and  small  "  Lake-dwellers  "  wheat. 
The  discovery  of  Egyptian  wheat  (Triticum  turgidum)  at 
Wangen  and  Robonhauseu,  is  particularly  mteresting.  Oats 
were  cultivated  during  the  Bronze  Age,  but  are  absent  from 
all  the  Stone  Age  villages.     Rye  also  was  unknown. 

Wheat  and  millet  only  seem  to  have  been  used  for  making 
bread.  Prof.  Heer  thinks  the  barley  was  probably  roasted. 
In  the  six-rowed  barley  the  husks  adhere  very  closely  to  the 
grain,  and  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  separate  them ; 
when  roasted,  however,  they  are  easily  detached  from  one 
another. 

Still  more  unexpected  was  the  discovery  of  bread,  or 
rather  cakes,  for  their  texture  is  so  solid  that  leaven  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  used.     They  were  flat  and  round. 


212  GRAIN.       FRUITS. 

from  an  incli  to  fifteen  lines  in  thickness,  and,  to  judge  from 
one  specimen,  had  a  diameter  of  four  or  five  inches.  In 
other  cases  the  grains  seem  to  have  been  roasted,  coarsely- 
ground  between  stones,  and  then  either  stored  up  in  large 
earthenware  pots,  or  eaten  after  being  slightly  moistened. 
Grain  prepared  in  a  similar  manner  is  even  now  eaten  in 
Germany  and  Switzerland.  In  what  way  the  ground  was 
prepared  for  the  cultivation  of  corn  we  know  not,  as  no 
implements  have  as  yet  been  discovered,  which  can  with 
certainty  be  regarded  as  agricultural. 

Carbonized  apples  have  been  found  at  Wangen,  sometimes 
whole,  sometimes  cut  into  two  or  more  rarely  into  four  pieces, 
and  evidently  dried  and  put  aside  for  winter  use.  They  have 
occurred  not  only  at  Wangen,  but  also  at  Robenhausen  in 
Lake  PfeflSkon,  and  at  Concise  in  Lake  Neufchatel.  They 
are  small,  and  resemble  generally  those  which  still  grow  wild 
in  the  Swiss  forests;  at  Robenhausen,  however,  specimens 
have  occurred  which  are  of  larger  size  and  were  probably 
cultivated.  No  traces  of  the  vine,  the  walnut,  the  cherry,  or 
the  damson  have  yet  been  met  with,  but  stones  of  the  wild 
plum  and  the  Prunus  padus  have  been  found.  Seeds  of  the 
raspberry  and  blackberry,  and  shells  of  the  hazel-nut  and 
beech-nut  occur  plentifully  in  the  mud,  but  those  of  the 
strawberry  are  rare.  Peas  have  been  found  at  Moosseedorf, 
but  beans  do  not  appear  until  the  Bronze  Age. 

From  all  this,  therefore,  it  is  evident  that  the  nourishment 
of  the  dwellers  in  the  Pileworks  consisted  of  corn  and  wild 
fruits,  of  fish,  and  the  flesh  of  wild  and  domestic  animals. 
Doubtless  also  milk  was  an  important  article  of  their  diet. 

Altogether  115  species  of  plants  have  been  determined. 
The  wild  species  are  almost  entirely  the  same  as  those  now 
living ;  the  Silene  cretica,  however,  a  South  European  weed, 
which  was  doubtless  introduced  originally  and  accidentally 
with  the  cereals,  and  which  has  been  found  at  Robenhausen, 


DRAPA   NATANS.      FLAX. 


213 


does  not  now  inhabit  Switzerland,  and  the  Drapa  natans, 
which  was  used  as  food  by  the  inhabitants  of  Moosseedorf 
and  Robenhausen,  was  supposed  to  be  extinct  in  Switzer- 
land, but  is  now  known  to  occur  in  one  locality. 

I  subjoin  a  table  which  I  have  compiled  from  Dr.  Heer*8 
memoir,  which  shows  the  more  interesting  species  and 
varieties. 


1  Hordeum  hexastichon  sanc- 

tum   

2  „  „         densum . 

3  „  distichum   

4  Triticumvulgareantiquorum 

5  ,,               „      compactum 
muticum   

6  Triticum   turgidum    (Egyp- 

tian wheat)  

7  Triticum  spelta    

8  „         dicoccum 

9  ,,         monococcum    

10  Secale  cercale  

11  Avena  sativa  (Oats)    

12  Panicum  miliaceum    

13  Setaria  italica  

14  Silene  cretica  

15  Centaurea  cyanus   

16  Pastinaca  sativa      

17  Faba  vulgaris  

18  Pisuni  sativum     

19  Ervum  leus  ! 


STONE  AGE.   TRANSITION.      BRONZE  AGE. 


20  Pyrus    malus     (small    crab;- 

apple)    i 

21  Trapa  natans   

22  Linom  angustifolium 


* 
*  1 


Neither  hemp,  oats,  nor  rye  have  yet  been  found.  Small 
pieces  of  twine  and  bits  of  matting  made  of  flax  may  have 
been  part  of  some  article  of  clothing.  For  this  purpbse  also 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  skins  of  animals  were  used. 


Only  one  ear,  subsequently  lost. 


214  ANCIENT   AGEICULTUEE. 

fragments  of  leather  have  been  met  with^  and  some  of  the 
stone  implements  seem  well  adapted  to  assist  in  their  pre- 
paration, while  the  bone  pins_,  and  the  needles  made  from  the 
teeth  of  boars,  may  have  served  to  fasten  them  together. 

Dr.  Heer,  from  whose  very  interesting  memoir*  the  above 
facts  are  borrowed,  calls  particular  attention  to  the  fact  that, 
while  the  remains  of  wild  species  found  in  the  Pfahlbauten 
agree  in  the  most  minute  particulars  with  those  still  living  in 
Switzerland,  the  cultivated  plants,  on  the  contrary,  differ 
from  all  the  existing  varieties,  and  invariably  have  smaller 
seeds  or  fruits.  Man  has  evidently  in  the  course  of  time 
effected  considerable  improvements.  It  is  also  very  interest- 
ing to  observe  how  the  evidence  derived  from  these  Swiss 
Lake-dwellings  agrees  with  the  evidence  contained  in  the 
most  ancient  writings  that  have  come  down  to  us.  Thus 
flax  is  mentioned  in  the  Pentateuch  and  in  Homer,  it  was 
also  largely  used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  while  hemp  seems 
to  have  been  unknown  until  a  later  period.  So  also  wheat  and 
barley,  but  neither  oats  nor  ryef  are  mentioned  in  Exodus 
or  by  Homer.  Even  in  the  time  of  David,  when  Barzillai  the 
Gileadite  J  "  brought  beds,  and  basins,  and  earthen  vessels, 
and  wheat,  and  barley,  and  flour,  and  parched  corn,  and 
beans,  and  lentiles,  and  parched  pulse,  and  honey,  and  butter, 
and  sheep,  and  cheese  of  kine,"  it  will  be  observed  that 
neither  oats  nor  rye  are  mentioned.  Flax  also  is  mentioned 
nine  times  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  linen  thirteen  times, 
but  hemp  not  once. 

To  what  race  of  men  these  interesting  remains  are  ascrib- 
able  we  have  as  yet  no  direct  evidence.  Human  bones  are 
very  rare  in  the  Pile  works,  and  may  probably  be  referred  to 
accidents,  especially  as  we  find  that  those  of  children  are 

*  Die  Pflanzen  der  Pfahlbauten.  in  Exodus  ix.  32,  really  means  spelt, 

t  According  to  the  best  Hebre-vv  ;{:  2  Sam.  xviii.  28. 

scholars,  the  ■word  translated  "  rye  " 


SCARCITY   OP   HUMAN   REMAINS.  215 

most  numerous.  M.  Desor,  indeed,  states  tliat  not  a  single 
human  skeleton  has  yet  been  found  in  any  of  the  stations 
belonging  to  the  Stone  Age,  and  Dr.  Keller,  in  his  fifth 
report,  informs  us  that  all  the  Lake-villages  taken  together 
have  not  yet  produced  more  than  half  a  dozen.  One  mature 
skull  from  Meilen  has  been  described  by  Professor  His,  who 
considers  that  it  does  not  differ  much  from  the  ordinary 
Swiss  type.  While  his  work  was  in  the  press,  Prof,  Riiti- 
meyer  received  from  Col,  Schwab  four  more  skulls,  two  of 
which  were  obtained  at  Nidau,  one  at  Sutz,  and  one  at  Biel. 
Another  skull  shown  to  me  by  Professor  Desor,  and  found  at 
Auvernicr,  completes  the  number  mentioned  by  Dr.  Keller, 
All  these  settlements,  howevei',  appear  to  have  belonged  to 
the  Bronze  Age,  nor  has  it  yet  been  possible  certainly  to 
refer  any  of  the  ancient  tumuli  found  in  Switzerland  to  tho 
earlier  period. 

Passing  now  to  the  Lake-habitations  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  we  find  that  they  are  less  generally  distributed 
than  those  of  the  earlier  period.  They  have  as  yet  been 
found  principally  on  the  Lakes  of  Geneva,  Luissel,  Neuf- 
chatel,  ]\Iorat,  Bienne,  and  Sempach  ;  scarcely  any  in  eastern 
Switzerland.  It  has  been  supposed  from  this  that  the  Age 
of  Stone  lasted  longer  in  the  east  than  in  the  west,  and  that 
flint  and  serpentine  were  in  use  on  Lake  Constance  long 
after  bronze  had  replaced  them  on  the  western  lakes.  We 
can,  however,  hardly  suppose  that  the  inhabitants  of  Inkwyl 
and  !Moosseedorf  in  Berne,  who  imported  flint  from  France, 
can  have  been  ignorant  of  the  neighbouring  civilization  on 
the  Lake  of  Bienne.  Moreover,  one  settlement  of  the  Bronze 
Age  has  been  found  on  the  Lake  of  Constance;  but  as  the 
question  now  stands,  Pileworks  of  the  Metallic  period  are 
almost  peculiar  to  western  and  central  Switzerland.  The 
constructions  of  the  Bronze  Age  are  more  solidly  ,built,  but 
do  not  otherwise  appear  to  have  diS'ered  materially  from 


216  BRONZE   AGE    LAKE-VILLAGES. 

those  of  the  Stone  Age.  They  are  often,  however,  situated 
farther  from  the  land  and  in  deeper  water,  partly  no  doubt 
on  account  of  the  greater  facility  of  working  timber,  but 
partly  also,  perhaps,  because  more  protection  was  needed  as 
the  means  of  attack  were  improved.  The  principal  objects 
of  bronze  are  swords,  daggers,  axes,  spear-heads,  knives, 
fish-hooks,  sickles,  pins,  rings,  and  bracelets.  The  number 
of  these  articles  which  have  been  discovered  is  already  very 
great,  the  collection  of  Col.  Schwab  alone  containing  no  less 
than  4346  objects  of  metal.  They  are  classified  in  the  table 
in  p.  43,  which  gives  an  idea  of  the  relative  proportions  in 
which  they  occur. 

Many  of  them  are  really  beautiful,  and  as  bronze  must 
have  been  at  that  early  period  of  considerable  value,  it  is 
difficult  to  understand  how  so  many  can  have  been  left  un- 
cared  for  and  forgotten,  along  the  shallow  margins  of  the 
Swiss  lakes.  "  II  est  evident/'  says  Prof.  Desor,  "  que  ce  ne 
Bont  pas  des  rebuts  qui  pe  seraient  perdus,  sans  qu'on  s^en 
inquietat.  lis  ne  sont  pas  tombes  h  I'eau  par  hasard,  non 
plus  que  cette  quantite  de  vases  qui  sont  accumules  sm'  cer- 
tain points,  ni  les  jattes  a  provisions  qu'on  retire  intactes." 
On  the  whole  he  is  inclined  to  think  that  in  some  of  these  cases 
at  least,  we  have  "  de  simples  magasins  destines  aux  usten- 
fiiles  et  aux  provisions,  et  qui  auraient  ete  detruits  par  Fin- 
cendie,  comme  semble  Findiquer  la  trace  du  feu  que  montrent 
frequemment  les  poutres  aussi  bien  que  les  vases  en  terra. 
On  expliquerait  ainsi  comment  il  se  fait  que  les  objets  en 
"bronze  sont  presque  tons  neufs,  que  les  vases  sont  entiers 
et  reunis  sur  un  seul  point.  Cette  hypothese  semble  cor- 
roboree  par  Topinion  de  plusieurs  de  nos  chercheurs  d'an- 
tiquites  les  plus  experimentes,  qui  pretendent  que  I'on  n'a 
chance  de  faire  de  bonnes  trouvailles  que  1^  ou  les  pieux 
Bont  brulee,  tandis  que  Ton  perd  son  temps  a  fouiller  les 
Btations  ou  les  pieux  ne  sont  pas  charbounes."    Col.  Schwab 


THE   WORSHIP   OF    LAKES.  217 

however,  than  whom  no  man  has  had  more  experience  in 
such  matters,  while  agreeing  that  comparatively  little  is  ever 
found  except  in  such  Lake-villages  as  show  traces  of  fire, 
expresses  himself  decidedly,  and  J  think  with  reason,  against 
the  "  bazaar  "  theory. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  early  inhabitants  of  Switzer- 
land may  have  worshipped  the  Lakes,  and  that  the  beautiful 
bracelets,  etc.,  may  have  been  offerings  to  the  gods.  In 
fact,  it  appears  from  ancient  writers  that  among  the  Gauls, 
Germans,  and  other  nations,  many  lakes  were  regarded  as 
sacred.  M.  Aymard  (Etude  Archeol.  sur  le  Lac  du  Bouchet. 
Le  Puy.  1862)  has  collected  several  instances  of  this  kind. 
According  to  Cicero*,  Justin f,  and  Strabo  J,  there  was  a  lake 
near  Toulouse  in  which  the  neighbouring  tribes  used  to  de- 
posit offerings  of  gold  and  silver.  Tacitus,  Pliny,  and  Virgil 
also  mention  the  existence  of  sacred  lakes.  Again,  so  late 
as  the  sixth  century,  Gregory  of  Tours,  who  is  quoted  by  M. 
Troyon  and  M.  Aymard,  tells  us  (De  Glor.  Confes.  chap,  ii.) 
that  on  Mount  Helanus  there  was  a  lake  which  was  the 
object  of  popular  worship.  Every  year  the  inhabitants  of 
the  neighbourhood  brought  to  it  offerings  of  clothes,  skins, 
cheeses,  cakes,  etc.  Traces  of  a  similar  superstition  may  still 
be  found  lingering  in  the  remote  parts  of  Scotland  and 
Ireland;  in  the  former  country  I  have  myself  seen  a  sacred 
spring  surrounded  by  the  offerings  of  the  neighbouring  pea- 
santry, who  seemed  to  consider  pence  and  halfpence  as  the 
most  appropriate  and  agreeable  sacrifice  to  the  Spirit  of  the 
Waters.  Neither  the  coarse,  broken  pottery,  the  castaway 
fragments  of  bones,  nor  the  traces  of  habitations,  can,  how- 
ever, be  accounted  for  in  this  manner §. 

The  pottery  of  the  Bronze  period  is  more  varied  and  more 

*  De  Nat.  Deor.  lib.  iii.  xxx.  §  See  also  Wylie  "On  Lake-dwell - 

t  Just,  xxxii.  iii.  ings  of  the  Early  Periods."  Archseol. 

X  Geog.  vol.  iv.  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  181. 


218  THE    POTTERY    OF   THE    BRONZE   AGE. 

skilfully  made  than  tliat  of  the  Stone  Age,  but  the  potter's 
wheel  does  not  seem  to  have  been  in  use.  Rings  of  earthen- 
ware are  common,  and  appear  to  have  been  used  as  supports 
for  the  round-bottomed  vasee.  The  ornaments  are  of  the  same 
general  character  as  those  on  the  objects  of  bronze.  Many  of 
the  large  urns  appear  to  have  been  used  as  store-places  for 
the  grain,  etc.,  which  were  collected  during  the  summer  for 
the  winter's  use.  In  the  absence,  perhaps,  of  boxes  and  cup- 
boards, even  ornaments  and  instruments  seem  to  have  been 
kept  in  large  jars.  Some  beautiful  bracelets  were  found  with 
several  sickles  in  a  jar  at  Cortaillod.  Pieces  of  pottery,  dis- 
torted by  fire  during  the  process  of  baking,  have,  according 
to  M.  Troyon,  been  found  in  many  of  the  Lake-villages, 
whence  he  concludes  that  the  pottery  was  manufactured  on 
the  spot. 

Colonel  Schwab  has  found  at  Nidau  more  than  twenty 
crescents  made  of  earthenware,  and  with  the  convex  side 
flattened  to  serve  as  a  foot.  They  are  compressed  at  the  sides, 
sometimes  plain,  sometimes  ornamented,  from  ten  to  twelve 
inches  wide,  and  six  to  eight  in  height.  Dr.  Keller  was  at 
first  inclined  to  regard  them  as  emblems  of  moon  worship, 
but  it  is  more  probable  that  they  were  pillows*.  Though  this 
seems  at  first  very  unlikely,  and  they  must,  one  would  think, 
have  been  very  uncomfortable,  still  we  know  that  several 
barbarous  races  at  the  present  day  use  wooden  pillows  or 
neck -rests  of  the  same  kind,  as,  for  instance,  the  Feegeeans, 
who,  having  enormous  heads  of  hair,  sacrifice  comfort  to 
vanity,  and  use  a  mere  wooden  bar  as  a  pillow.  The  very 
long  bronze  pins  found  with  these  "crescents''  indicate  that 
during  the  Bronze  Age  the  hair  was  worn  very  long  and 
carefully  arranged, 

M.  Troyon  is  of  opinion  that  the  inhabitants  of  Switzer- 
land during  the  Bronze  Age  were  of  a  difl'erent  race  from 
*  Vogt's  Lectures  on  Man,  p.  368. 


I 


INHABITAXTS    OF   THE    LAKE- VILLAGES.  219 

those  who  had  lived  there  during  the  earlier  period,  and  he 
agrees  with  some  of  the  Scandinavian  archseologists  in  re- 
garding them  as  the  true  "Celts/'  and  in  attributing  to  them 
the  habit  of  burning  their  dead.  "Des  que  le  bronze  se 
repand  en  Europe,  I'incineration  devient  d'un  usage  general. 
L'apparition  d'un  nouveau  peuple  repond  evidemment  ;\  celle 
de  ce  metal.  L'urne  cin^raire,  de  meme  que  la  tombe  cu- 
bique,  se  retrouve  sous  la  surface  du  sol  ou  dans  le  tumulus, 
mais  celui-ci  gencralement  moins  ^leve  que  dans  Tage  pri- 
mitif,  ne  recouvre  plus  guere  de  salle  funeraire.  Quand  on 
voit  combien  il  est  rave  que  le  bronze  accompagne  le  premier 
mode  d'inhumation,  on  doit  reconnaitrc  que  Fenvahisseur  est 
reste  maitrc  du  sol;  du  reste  il  ne  pouvait  en  etre  autrement 
de  la  part  d'un  peuple  possedant  des  armes  en  metal,  or  ces 
armes  sont  celles  des  anciens  Celtes  qui  n'inhumaient  point 
leur  morts,  mais  les  livraient  au  flammos  du  bucher.  L'in- 
cineration  ctant  une  partie  integrante  de  leurs  pratiques 
religieuses,  et  I'urne  cineraire  devenant  d'un  usage  general 
avec  le  bronze,  il  en  resulte  que  le  Celte  n'est  pas  le  premier 
habitant  de  I'Europe  dans  laquelle  il  a  introduit  les  arts 
metallurgiqucs."  It  would  be  very  desirable  to  have  some 
statistics,  in  order  that  we  might  appreciate  the  value  of 
the  evidence  to  be  derived  from  these  Swiss  tumuli.  M. 
Troyon  relies  on  the  fact  that  many  of  the  Lake-villages 
were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  that  when,  as  appears  to  have 
been  the  case  at  several  places,  they  were  rebuilt  during  the 
Bronze  Age,  this  was  done,  not  exactly  on  the  same  spot, 
but  farther  away  from  the  bank.  Dr.  Keller,  on  the  other 
hand,  considers  that  the  primitive  population  did  not  differ, 
either  in  disposition  (anlage),  mode  of  life,  or  industry,  from 
that  which  was  acquainted  with  the  use  of  bronze;  and  that 
the  whole  phenomena  6f  the  Lake-villages,  from  their  com- 
mencement to  their  conclusion,  indicate  clearly  a  gradual 
and  peaceable  development.     The  number  of  instances  in 


220  CHARACTER   OF   THE    OBJECTS 

whicli  Lake-villages  had  been  destroyed  by  fire  has  been, 
he  considers,  exaggerated.  Of  the  settlements  on  the  Lakes 
of  Bienne  and  Neufchatel,  amounting  in  all  to  sixty-six,  only 
a  quarter  have,  according  to  Col.  Schwab,  shown  any  traces 
of  combustion ;  a  proportion  which  is,  perhaps,  not  greater 
than  might  have  been  expected,  remembering  that  the  huts 
were  built  of  wood,  and  in  all  probability  covered  by  thatch. 
Moreover,  if  these  conflagrations  had  resulted  from  the  attacks 
of  enemies,  we  ought  surely  to  have  found  numerous  remains 
of  the  slain,  whereas  all  the  Lake-villages  together  have  not 
as  yet  supplied  us  with  the  remains  of  more  than  half  a  dozen 
human  skeletons. 

It  must,  I  think,  be  confessed  that  the  arguments  used  by 
M.  Troyon  do  not  justify  us  in  believing  with  him  that  the 
introduction  of  bronze  was  accompanied  by  an  entire  change 
of  population.  The  construction  of  Lake-dwellings  is  a  habit 
so  unusual,  that  the  continuance  of  similar  habitations  during 
the  Bronze  Age  seems  to  me  a  strong  argument  against  any 
such  hypothesis. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  Bronze  Age  the  Lake-villages 
appear  to  have  gradually  becofne  less  numerous.  During  the 
Stone  Age  they  were  spread  over  the  whole  country.  Bronze 
Age  settlements  are  very  rare  in  the  east  of  Switzerland,  and 
the  L'on  Age  is  represented  only  on  the  Lakes  of  Bienne  and 
Neufchatel.  In  these  settlements  not  only  has  a  new  sub- 
stance made  its  appearance,  but  the  forms  of  the  implements 
are  different.  We  have,  indeed,  copies  of  the  bronze  axes 
made  in  iron,  just  as  we  found  before  that  some  of  the  earlier 
bronze  celts  resembled  the  stone  axes  in  form;  but  these  are 
exceptional  cases.  The  swords  have  larger  handles,  and  are 
more  richly  ornamented;  the  knives  have  straight  edges;  the 
sickles  are  larger;  the  pottery  is  more  skilfully  made,  and  is 
of  the  kind  generally  known  as  Roman;  coins  occur,  the  per- 
sonal ornaments  are  more  varied,  and  glass  for  the  first  time 


I 


FOUND    IN    DIFFERENT    LAKE-VILLAGES.  221 

makes  its  appearance.  Bronze  also  is  present ;  but  i  i  the 
first  place  it  is  no  longer  used  for  weapons^  and  in  the 
second  it  is  worked  in  a  different  manner,  being  hammered*, 
while,  as  already  mentioned,  all  the  objects  of  the  Bronze 
Age  are  cast. 

A  field  of  battle  at  Tiefenau,  near  Berne  (see  p.  7),  is 
remarkable  for  the  great  number  of  iron  weapons  and  imple- 
ments which  have  been  found  on  it.  Pieces  of  chariots,  about 
a  hundred  swords,  fragmeniis  of  coat  of  mail,  lance-heads, 
rings,  fibulae,  ornaments,  utensils,  pieces  of  pottery  and  of 
glass,  accompanied  by  more  than  thirty  Gaulish  and  Massa- 
liote  coins  of  a  date  anterior  to  our  era,  enable  us  to  refer 
this  battle-field  to  the  Roman  period.  About  forty  Roman 
coins  have  also  been  found  at  the  small  island  on  the  Lake 
of  Bienne. 

After  this  period  we  find  no  more  evidences  of  Lake- 
habitations  on  a  large  scale.  Here  and  there,  indeed,  a 
few  fishermen  may  have  lingered  on  the  half- destroyed  plat- 
forms, but  the  wants  and  habits  of  the  people  had  changed, 
and  the  a^e  of  the  Swiss  Pileworks  was  at  an  end. 

We  have,  however,  traced  them  through  the  ages  of  Stone 
and  Bronze  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  Iron  period.  We 
have  seen  evidences  of  a  gradual  progress  in  civilization, 
and  improvement  in  the  arts,  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
domestic  animals,  and  proofs  at  last  of  the  existence  of  an 
extended  commerce.  We  found  the  country  inhabited  only 
by  rude  savages,  and  we  leave  it  the  seat  of  a  powerful  nation. 
Changes  so  important  as  these  are  not  effected  in  a  day;  the 
progress  of  the  human  mind  is  but  slow;  and  the  gradual' 
additions  to  human  knowledge  and  power,  like  the  rings  in 
trees,  enable  us  to  form  some  idea  how  distant  must  be  the 
date  of  their  commencement.  So  varied,  however,  are  the 
conditions  of  the  human  mind,  so  much  are  all  nations  affected 

*  See  Desor,  Les  Constmctions  lacustres  da  Lac  de  Neuchatcl,  p.  27- 


222 


ANTIQUITY   OF    LAKE-VILLAGES. 


by  the  injfluence  of  others,,  that  when  we  attempt  to  express 
our  impressions,  so  to  say,  in  terms  of  years,  we  are  baffled 
by  the  complexity  of  the  problem. 

Some  attempts  have,  indeed,  been  made  to  obtain  a  more 
definite  chronology,  and  they  will  be  alluded  to  in  a  later 
chapter.  Though  we  must  not  conceal  from  ourselves  the 
imperfection  of  the  archgeological  record,  still  we  need  not 
despair  of  eventually  obtaining  some  approximate  chrono- 
logy. Our  knowledge  of  primitive  antiquity  has  made  an 
enormous  stride  in  the  last  ten  years,  and  we  may  fairly  look 
forward  with  hope  to  the  future. 

The  Swiss  archaeologists  are  continuing  theu'  labours,  and 
they  may  rest  assured  that  we  in  England  await  with  interest 
the  result  of  their  mvestigations.  Few  things,  indeed,  can 
be  more  interesting  than  the  spectacle  of  an  ancient  and 
long-forgotten  people  thus  rising,  as  it  were,  from  the  waters 
of  oblivion,  to  take  that  place  which  properly  belongs  to  it 
in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 


223 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    DANISH    KJOKKENMODDINGS,    OR    SHELL-MOUNDS. 

DENMARK  occupies  a  larger  space  in  the  history,  than 
on  the  map  of  Europe ;  the  nation  is  gi'cater  than  the 
country.  Though,  with  the  growth  of  physical  power  in 
surrounding  populations,  she  has  lost  much  of  her  influence 
in  political  councils,  and  has  been  recently  deprived  of  a  great 
part  of  her  ancient  possessions,  still  the  Danes  of  to-day  are 
no  unworthy  representatives  of  their  ancestors.  Many  a 
larger  nation  might  envy  them  the  position  they  hold  in 
science  and  in  art,  and  few  have  contributed  more  to  the 
progress  of  human  knowledge.  Copenhagen  may  well  be 
proud  both  of  her  museums  and  of  her  professors,  and  I 
would  especially  point  to  the  celebrated  Museum  of  Northern 
Antiquities,  as  being  most  characteristic  and  unique. 

For  the  formation  of  such  a  collection  Denmark  ofiers 
great  opportunities.  The  whole  country  appears  to  have 
been,  at  one  time,  thickly  studded  with  tumuli :  where  the 
land  has  not  been  brought  into  cultivation,  many  of  them 
are  often  in  sight  at  once,  and  even  in  the  more  fertile  and 
thickly  populated  parts,  the  plough  is  often  diverted  from  its 
course  by  one  of  these  ancient  burial  places.  Fortunately^ 
the  stones  of  which  they  are  constructed  are  so  large  and 
so  hard,  that  their  destruction  and  removal  is  a  laborious 
and  expensive  undertaking.  While,  however,  on  the  one 
hand,  land  grows  gradually  more  valuable,  and  the  stones 
themselves  arc  more  and  more  coveted  for  building-  or  other 


224 


DANISH    TUMULI. 


purposes :  on  the  other,  the  conservative  traditions,  the 
feeling  of  superstitious  reverence  for  the  dead,  which  have 
so  long  protected  them  from  desecration,  is  gradually  be- 
coming weaker;  and  it  is  estimated  that  not  a  day  passes 
without  witnessing  the  destruction  of  one  or  more  of  these 
tumuli,  and  the  loss  of  some  perhaps  almost  irrecoverable 
link  in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 

Many  of  these  barrows,  indeed,  contain  in  themselves  a 
small  collection  of  antiquities,  and  the  whole  country  may 
even  be  considered  as  a  museum  on  a  great  scale.  The  peat 
bogs,  which  occupy  so  large  an  area,  may  almost  be  said  to 
swarm  with  antiquities,  and  Professor  Steenstrup  estimates 
that,  on  an  average,  every  column  of  peat  three  feet  square 
contains  some  specimen  of  ancient  workmanship.  All  these 
advantages  and  opportunities,  however,  might  have  been 
thrown  away,  but  for  the  genius  and  perseverance  of  Pro- 
fessor Thomson,  who  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  created  the 
museum  over  which  he  so  long  and  so  worthily  presided. 

In  addition  to  the  objects  collected  from  the  tumuli  and 
the  peat  bogs,  and  to  those  which  have  been  found  from 
time  to  time  scattered  at  random  in  the  soil,  the  Museum 
of  Northern  Antiquities  contains  an  immense  collection  of 
specimens  from  some  very  interesting  shell-mounds,  which  are 
known  in  Denmark  under  the  name  of  "  Kjokkenmoddings," 
and  were  long  supposed  to  be  raised  beaches,  like  those 
which  are  found  at  so  many  points  along  our  own  shores. 
True  raised  beaches,  however,  necessarily  contain  a  variety 
of  species ;  the  individuals  are  of  different  ages,  and  the 
shells  are,  of  course,  mixed  with  a  considerable  quantity  of 
sand  and  gravel.  But  it  was  observed,  in  the  first  instance, 
I  believe,  by  Professor  Steenstrup,  that  in  these  supposed 
beaches,  the  shells  belonged  entirely  to  full-grown,  or  to 
nearly  full-grown,  individuals  :  that  they  consisted  of  four 
species  which  do  not  live  together,   nor  require  the  same 


KJOKKENMODDINGS,    OR    SHELL-MOUNDS.  225 

conditions,  and  would  not,  therefore,  be  found  together  alone 
in  a  natural  deposit :  and  thirdly,  that  the  stratum  con- 
tained scarcely  any  gravel,  but  consisted  almost  entirely 
of  shells. 

The  discovery  of  rude  flint  implements,  and  of  bones  still 
bearing  the  marks  of  knives,  confirmed  the  supposition  that 
these  beds  were  not  natural  formations,  and  it  subsequently 
became  evident  that  they  were,  in  fact,  the  sites  of  ancient 
villages ;  the  primitive  population  having  lived  on  the  shore 
and  fed  principally  on  shell-fish,  but  partly  also  on  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  chase.  In  many  places  hearths  were  discovered 
consisting  of  flat  stones,  arranged  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
form  small  platforms,  and  bearing  all  the  marks  of  fire.  The 
shells  and  bones  not  available  for  food  gradually  accumulated 
round  the  tents  and  huts,  until  they  formed  deposits  generally 
from  three  to  five  feet,  but  sometimes  as  much  as  ten  feet  in 
thickness,  and  in  some  cases  more  than  three  hundred  yards 
in  length,  with  a  breadth  of  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred 
feet.  The  name  Kjokkenmodding,  applied  to  these  mounds, 
is  derived  from  Kjokken,  ''kitchen,^^  and  modding  (corre- 
sponding to  our  local  word  midding),  "a,  refuse  heap,^'  and 
it  was,  of  course,  evident  that  a  careful  examination  of  these 
accumulations  would  throw  much  light  on  the  manners  and 
civilization  of  the  then  population. 

Under  these  circumstances  a  committee  was  formed,  con- 
sisting of  Professor  Steenstrup,  the  celebrated  author  of  the 
treatise  "  On  the  Alternation  of  Generations,"  Professor 
Forchhammer,  the  father  of  Danish  Geology,  and  Professor 
Worsaae,  the  well-known  archasologist :  a  happy  combina- 
tion, promising  the  best  results  to  biology,  geology,  and 
archgeology.  Much  was  naturally  expected  from  the  labours 
of  such  a  triumvirate,  and  the  most  sanguine  hopes  have 
been  fulfilled.  More  than  fifty  of  the  deposits  have  been 
carefully  examined,  many  thousand  specimens  have  been  col- 
17 


226  DESCRIPTION   OF   THE    SHELL-MOUNDS. 

lected,  ticketed,  and  deposited  in  tlie  Museum  at  Copenliagen, 
and  tlie  general  results  have  been  embodied  in  six  Reports, 
presented  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Copenliagen*. 

It  is  from  these  reports,  and  from  the  excellent  Memoir  by 
M.  Morlot,  that  the  following  information  has  principally 
been  derived.  Being,  however,  anxious  to  present  to  my 
readers  a  complete  and  accurate  account  of  these  interest- 
ing shell-mounds,  I  have  twice  visited  Denmark;  first  in 
1861,  with  Professor  Busk,  and  again  in  the  summer  of 
1863.  On  both  these  occasions,  through  the  kindness  of 
Professor  Thomson  and  Herr  K.  Herbst,  every  facility  has 
been  afforded  me  of  examining  the  large  collections  made 
in  different  Kjokkenmoddings,  in  addition  to  which  I  had 
the  great  advantage  of  visiting  several  of  the  shell-mounds 
under  the  guidance  of  Professor  Steenstrup  himself — espe- 
cially one  at  Havelse  in  1861,  and  those  at  Meilgaard  and 
Fannerup,  in  1863. 

Mr.  Busk  and  I  also  visited  by  ourselves  one  at  Bilidt,  on 
the  Isefjord,  close  to  Fredericksund ;  but  this  is  one  of  the 
places  at  which  it  would  seem  that  the  inhabitants  cooked 
their  dinners  actually  on  the  shore  itself,  so  that  the  shells 
and  bones  are  much  mixed  up  with  sand  and  gravel;  and  we 
were  not  very  successful  in  the  search  for  flint  implements. 
At  Havelse,  on  the  contrary,  the  settlement  was  on  rather 
higher  ground,  and,  though  close  to  the  shore,  quite  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  waves ;  the  shells  and  bones  are,  therefore, 
almost  unmixed  with  extraneous  substances.  At  this  place 
the  Kjokkenmodding  is  of  small  extent,  and  is  in  the  form 
of  an  irregular  ring,  enclosing  a  space  on  which  the  ancient 
dwelling  or  dwellings  probably  stood.    In  other  cases,  where 

*  Untersogelser  i  geologisk-anti-  lent  abstract  of  the  Reports  in  tlie 

quarisk  Eetning  af  G.  Forchhammer,  Mem.  de  la  Societe  Vaudoise,  t.  vi. 

J.   Steenstrup,  og  J.  Worsaae.      M.  1860. 
Morlot  also  has  published  an  excel- 


DESCRIPTION   OF   THE    SHELL-MOUNDS.  227 

the  deposit  is  of  greater  extent,  as,  for  instance  in  tlie  cele- 
brated shell-mound  at  Meilgaard,  the  surface  is  undulating, 
the  greater  thickness  of  the  shelly  stratum  in  some  places 
apparently  indicating  the  arrangement  of  the  dwellings. 
AVhen  the  shell-mound  at  Havelse  was  previously  visited 
by  Professor  Steenstrup,  the  shells  were  being  removed  to 
serve  as  manure,  and  the  mound,  presenting  a  perpendicular 
section,  was  in  a  very  favourable  condition  for  examination^ 
The  small  pit  thus  formed  had,  however,  been  filled  in ;  so 
that  wo  were  obliged  to  make  a  fresh  excavation.  In  two  or 
three  hours  we  obtained  about  a  hundred  fragments  of  bone, 
many  rude  flakes,  slingstones,  and  flint  fragments,  together 
with  nine  rude  axes  of  the  ordinary  "shell-mound"  type 
(figs.  108-110),  several  of  which,  however,  were  picked  up 
on  the  surface. 

Our  visit  to  Meilgaard  in  18G3  was  even  more  successful. 
This,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting  shell- 
mounds  hitherto  discovered,  is  situated  not  far  from  the  sea- 
coast,  near  Grcnaa  in  north-east  Jutland,  in  a  beautiful 
beech-forest  called  "Aigt,"  or  "Aglskov,"  on  the  property  of 
M.  Olseuj  who,  with  a  praiseworthy  devotion  to  science,  has 
given  orders  that  the  Kjukkenmodding  should  not  be  de- 
stroyed, although  the  materials  of  which  it  consists  are  well 
adapted  for  the  improvement  of  the  soil,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses, to  which,  indeed,  they  had  already  been  in  part  ap- 
plied before  the  true  nature  of  the  deposit  was  discovered. 
Arriving  at  his  house,  without  invitation  or  notice,  we  were 
received  by  M.  Olsen  and  his  family  with  kindness  and 
hospitality,  M.  Olsen  immediately  sent  two  workmen  to 
clear  away  the  rubbish  which  had  fallen  in  since  the  last 
archa3ological  visit,  so  that  when  we  reached  the  spot  wo 
found  a  fresh  wall  of  the  shell-mound  ready  for  examination. 
In  the  middle,  this  Kjcikkenmodding  has  a  thickness  of  about 
ten  feet,  from  which^  however,  it  slopes  away  in  all  direc- 


228  DISTRIBUTION   OP  THE    SHELL-MOUNDS. 

tions ;  roimd  the  principal  mound  are  several  smaller  ones, 
of  the  same  nature.  Over  the  shells  a  thin  layer  of  mould 
has  formed  itself,  on  which  the  trees  grow.  A  good  section 
of  such  a  Kjcikkenmodding  can  hardly  fail  to  strike  with  as- 
tonishment any  one  who  sees  it  for  the  first  time,  and  it  is 
diflficult  to  convey  in  words  an  exact  idea  of  the  appearance 
which  it  presents.  The  whole  thickness  consists  of  shells, 
oysters  being  at  Meilgaard  by  far  the  most  numerous,  with 
here  and  there  a  few  bones,  and  still  more  rarely  stone  im- 
plements or  fragments  of  pottery.  Excepting  just  at  the  top 
and  bottom,  the  mass  is  quite  unmixed  with  sand  and  gravel; 
and,  in  fact,  contains  nothing  but  what  has  been,  in  some 
way  or  other,  subservient  to  the  use  of  man.  The  only  ex- 
ceptions which  I  could  see  were  a  few,  very  few,  rough  flint 
pebbles,  which  were  probably  dredged  up  with  the  oysters. 
While  we  were  in  this  neighbourhood,  we  visited  another 
Kjokkenmodding  at  Fannerup  on  the  Kolindsund,  which  was 
even  in  historical  times  an  arm  of  the  sea,  but  is  now  a  fresh- 
water lake.  Other  similar  deposits  have  been  discovered  on 
the  Randersfjord  and  Mariagerfjord  in  this  part  of  Jutland, 
nor  are  the  two  settlements  at  Havelse  and  Bilidt  by  any 
means  the  only  ones  on  the  Isefjord ;  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Roeskilde,  Kjokkenmoddings  occur  near  Gjerdrup,  at 
Kattinge,  and  Kattinge  Vserk,  near  Trallerup,  at  Gjershoi, 
and  opposite  the  island  of  Hyldeholme ;  besides  several  far- 
ther north,  others  have  been  found  on  the  islands  of  Fyen, 
of  Moen,  and  of  Samsoe,  and  in  Jutland  along  Liimfjord 
and  Horsensfjord,  as  well  as  on  the  Mariagerfjord,  Randers- 
jQord,  and  Kolindsund.  The  southern  parts  of  Denmark  have 
not  yet  been  carefully  examined.  Generally  it  is  evident  that 
deposits  of  this  nature  were  scattered  here  and  there  over 
the  whole  coast,  but  that  they  were  never  formed  inland. 
The  whole  country  was  more  intersected  by  fjords  during 
the  Stone  period  even  than  it  is  now.     Under  these  circum- 


SHELL-MOUNDS   IN   SCOTLAND.  229 

stances  it  is  evident  that  a  nation  which  subsisted  principally 
on  marine  mollusca  would  never  form  any  large  inland  settle- 
ments. In  some  instances,  indeed,  Kjokkenmoddings  have 
been  found  as  far  as  eight  miles  from  the  present^'°*^'- 
coast,  but  in  these  cases  there  is  good  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  the  land  has  encroached  on  the  sea.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  those  parts  where  Kjokkenmoddings 
do  not  occur,  their  absence  is  no  doubt  occasioned  by 
the  waves  having  to  a  certain  extent  eaten  away 
the  shore :  an  explanation  which  accounts  for  their 
being  so  much  more  frequent  on  the  borders  of  the 
inland  fjords  than  on  the  coast  itself;  and  which 
seems  to  deprive  us  of  all  hope  of  finding  any  similar 
remains  on  our  eastern  and  south-eastern  shores. 
Shell-mounds,  although  probably  belonging  to  a  later 
date,  have,  however,  actually  been  found  on  our  coasts. 
They  were  observed  by  Dr.  Gordon,  of  Birnie,  on  the 
shores  of  the  Moray  Firth.  I  have  had  the  advantage 
of  visiting  these  shell-mounds  with  him.  The  largest  of 
the  Scotch  Kjokkenmoddings  is  on  Loch  Spynie.  We 
did  not  find  any  implements  or  pottery  in  it,  although 
we  searched  for  several  hours,  but  a  labourer,  who  had 
been  employed  in  carting  it  away  for  manure,  had 
previously  found  some  fragments  of  rude  pottery  and 
the  bronze  pin  (fig.  171).  Loch  Spynie  has  been 
partially  drained,  and  is  shut  out  from  the  sea  by  a 
great  accumulation  of  shingle,  so  that  the  water  is  now 
perfectly  fresh.  From  ancient  records  it  appears  that 
the  shingle  barrier  was  probably  completed,  and  the  Bronze 
lake  shut  out  from  the  sea,  in  the  thirteenth  and  a'scou"! 
fourteenth  centuries.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  sub-  niound. 
mitted  the  bronze  pin  figured  here  to  Mr.  Franks,  who  gives 
it  as  his  opinion  that  it  is  probably  not  older  than  800  or 
900  A.D.     If,  therefore,  it  really  belongs  to  the  shell-mound, 


230  SHELL-MOUNDS    IN    OTHER    COUNTRIES. 

and  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  the  statement  of  the  man 
who  found  it,  we  thus  get  an  approximate  date  for  the 
accumulation  of  the  mound  itself.  At  St.  Valeiy,  close  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Somme,  Mr.  Evans,  Mi*.  Prestwich,  and  I 
found  a  large  accumulation  of  shells,  from  which  I  obtained 
several  flint  flakes  and  some  pieces  of  rude  pottery.  Mr. 
Pengelly  and  Mr.  Spence  Bate  have  recently  described  some 
shell-mounds  in  Cornwall  and  Devonshire.  Similar  remains 
have  been  observed  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  as,  for 
instance,  in  Australia  and  Dampier  *,  in  Tierra  del  Fuego  by 
Mr.  Darwin  f,  in  the  Malay  Peninsula  by  Mr.  Earle  J,  in  the 
Andaman  islands  by  Dr.  Stoliczka  §,  and  in  both  North  ||  and 
South  ^  America. 

The  fact  that  the  majority  of  the  Danish  shell-mounds  are 
found  at  a  height  of  only  a  few  feet  above  the  sea  appears  to 
prove  that  there  has  been  no  considerable  subsidence  of  the 
land  since  their  formation,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  clearly 
shows  that  there  can  have  been  no  elevation.  In  certain 
cases,  however,  where  the  shore  is  steep,  they  have  been 
found  at  a  considerable  height.  It  might  indeed  be  sup- 
posed that  where,  as  at  Bilidt,  the  materials  of  the  Kjokken- 
modding  were  rudely  interstratified  with  sand  and  gravel, 
the  land  must  have  sunk ;  but  if  for  any  length  of  time  such 
a  deposit  was  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  waves,  all  traces 
of  it  would  be  obliterated,  and  it  is,  therefore,  probable  that 
an  explanation  is  rather  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
action  of  waves  and  storms  may  have  been  greater  at  that 
time  than  they  are  now.  At  present  the  tides  only  afiect 
the  Kattegat  to  the  extent  of  about  a  foot  and  a  half,  and 
the  configuration  of  the  land  protects  it  very  much  from  the 

*  Pitkerton's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  §  Proc.    As.     Soc.    Bengal,    Jan. 

473.  1870. 

t  Journal,  p.  234.  ||  H.  Wyman,  The  American  Natu- 

J  Ethnological   Soc.  Trans.,    New  ralist,  vol.  ii.  Nos.  8,  9,  and  11. 

Ser.  vol.  ii.  p.  119.  IT  Brett's  Indian  Tribes  of  Guiana. 


FLORA    OF    THE    DANISH    SHELL-MOUNDS.  231 

action  of  the  winds.  On  the  other  hand,  the  tides  on  the 
west  coast  of  Jutland  rise  about  nine  feet,  and  the  winds 
have  been  known  to  produce  diflferences  of  level  amounting 
to  twenty-nine  feet;  and  as  we  know  that  Jutland  was 
anciently  an  archipelago,  and  that  the  Baltic  was  more  open 
to  the  German  Ocean  than  it  is  now,  we  can  easily  under- 
stand that  the  fluctuations  of  level  may  have  been  greater, 
and  we  can  thus  explain  how  the  waves  may  have  risen  over 
the  Kjokkenmodding  at  Bilidt  (which  is  after  all  not  much 
more  than  ten  feet  above  the  water),  without  resorting  to  the 
hypothesis  of  a  subsidence  and  subsequent  elevation  of  the 
coast. 

In  the  Lake-habitations  of  the  Stone  Age  in  Switzerland, 
grains  of  wheat  and  barley,  and  even  pieces  of  bread,  or 
rather  biscuit,  have  been  found.  It  does  not,  however,  appear 
that  the  men  of  the  Kjokkenmoddings  had  any  knowledge 
of  agriculture,  no  traces  of  grain  of  any  sort  having  been 
hitherto  discovered.  The  only  vegetable  remains  found  in 
them  have  been  burnt  pieces  of  wood,  and  some  charred  sub- 
stance, referred  by  M.  Forchhammer  to  the  Zostera  manna, 
a  sea-plant  which  was,  perhaps,  used  in  the  production  of 
salt. 

The  four  species  which  are  the  most  abundant  in  the  shell- 
mounds  are — 

The  oyster,  Ostrea  edulis,  L. 

The  cockle,  Cardium  edule,  L. 

The  mussel,  Mytilus  edulis,  L.  and 

The  periwinkle,  Littorina  littorea,  L. 
all  four  of  which  are  still  used  as  food  for  man.     Other 
species  occur  more  rarely,  namely, — 

Nassa  reticulata,  L. 

Buccinum  undatum,  L. 

Venus  pullastra,  Mont. 

ndix  nemorqUs,  Miill. 


232  FAUNA   OP   THE    SHELL-MOUNDS. 

Venus  aurea,  Gm. 

Trigonella  plana,  Da.  C. 

Littorina,  obtusata,  L. 

Helix  strigella,  Miill.  and 

Garocolla  lapicida,  L. 
It  is  remarkable  tliat  the  specimens  of  the  first  seven 
species  are  well  developed,  and  decidedly  larger  than  any 
now  found  in  the  neighbourhood.  This  is  especially  the  case 
with  the  Cardium  edule  and  Littorina  littorea,  while  the 
oyster  has  entirely  disappeared,  and  even  in  the  Kattegat 
itself  occurs  only  in  a  few  places ;  a  result  which  may,  perhaps, 
be  partly  owing  to  the  quantities  caught  by  fishermen.  Some 
oysters  were,  however,  still  living  in  the  Isefjord  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  century,  and  their  destruction  cannot  be  alto- 
gether ascribed  to  the  fishermen,  as  great  numbers  of  dead 
shells  are  still  present ;  but  in  this  case  it  is  attributed  to  the 
abundance  of  starfishes,  which  are  very  destructive  to  oysters. 
On  the  whole,  their  disappearance,  especially  wheil  taken  in 
connexion  with  the  dwarf  size  of  the  other  species,  is  evi- 
dently attributable  in  a  great  measure  to  the  smaller  pro- 
portion of  salt  in  the  water. 

Of  Crustacea  only  a  few  fragments  of  crabs  have  hitherto 
been  found.  The  remains  of  vertebrata  are  very  numerous 
and  extremely  interesting.  In  order  to  form  an  idea  of  the 
number  of  bones,  and  of  the  relative  proportions  belonging 
to  diSerent  animals.  Professor  Steenstrup  dug  out  from  three 
different  parts  of  the  shell-mound  at  Havelse,  square  pillars 
with  sides  three  feet  in  length,  and  carefully  collected  the 
bones  therein  contained.  In  the  first  pillar  he  found  175 
bones  of  mammals,  and  35  of  birds ;  in  the  second  pillar  he 
found  121  of  mammals  and  9  of  birds ;  in  the  third  309  of 
mammals  and  10  of  birds.  The  pillars,  however,  were  not 
exactly  comparable,  because  their  cubic  contents  depended 
on  the  thickness  of  the  shell-mound  at  the  place  where  they 


FISH.       BIRDS.      MAMMALS.  233 

were  taken^  and  varied  between  seventeen  and  twenty  cubic 
feet.  On  the  wholCj  Prof.  Steenstrup  estimates  that  there 
were  from  ten  to  twelve  bones  in  each  cubic  foot.  It  will  be 
seen,  therefore,  that  the  number  of  bones  is  very  great. 
Indeed,  from  the  mound  at  Havelse  alone  the  Committee 
obtained  in  one  summer  3500  bones  of  mammals,  and  more 
than  200  of  birds,  besides  many  hundred  of  fishes,  which 
latter,  indeed,  are  almost  innumerable.  The  most  common 
species  are — 

Clupea  harengus,  L.  (the  herring), 
Gadus  callarias,  L.  (the  dorse), 
Pleuronedes  limanda,  L.  (the  dab),  and 
Murcena  anrjuilla,  L.  (the  eel). 

The  remains  of  birds  are  highly  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive. The  domestic  fowl  {Gallus  domcsticus)  is  entirely 
absent.  The  two  domestic  swallows  of  Denmark  {Hirimdo 
rustica  and  II.  urhica),  the  sparrow  and  the  stork  are  also 
missing.  On  the  other  hand,  fine  specimens  of  the  caper- 
cailzie {Tetrao  urogallus)  which  feeds  principally  on  the  buds 
of  the  pine,  show  that,  as  we  know  already  from  the  remains 
found  in  the  peat,  the  country  was  at  one  time  covered  with 
pine  forests.  Aquatic  birds,  however,  are  the  most  frequent, 
especially  several  species  of  ducks  and  geese.  The  wild  swan 
{Cygniis  musicus)  which  only  visits  Denmark  in  winter,  is 
also  frequently  found ;  but,  perhaps,  the  most  interesting  of 
the  birds  whose  remains  have  been  identified,  is  the  Great 
Auk  {Alca  impennis,  L.),  a  species  which  is  now  almost, 
if  not  altogether,  extinct. 

Of  mammalia  by  far  the  most  common  are — 

The  stag  {Gervus  elephas,  L.) 

The  roedeer  {Gervus  capreolus,  L.)  and 

The  wild  boar  {Sus  scrofa,  L.) 

Indeed,    Professor    Steenstrup    estimates    that    these  three 


234  MAMMALS. 

species  form  ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  the  whole ;  the  others 
are — 

The  urus  {Bos  urus,  L.) 

The  dog  {Canis  familiar  is,  L.) 

The  fox  {Cams  vulpes,  L.) 

The  wolf  {Ganis  hqnis,  L.) 

The  marten  {Martes  sj).) 

The  otter  {Lutra  vulgaris,  Exl.) 

The  porpoise  {Belpliinus  plwccena,  L.) 

The  seal  {Phoca  sp.) 

The  water-rat   {HypucloMs   amphihius,  L.  and 
Hypudceus  agrestis,  L.) 

The  beaver  {Castor  Jiber,  L.) 

The  lynx  {Felis  lynx,  L.) 

The  wild  cat  {Felis  catus,  L.) 

The  hedgehog  {Erinaceus  europceus,  L.) 

The  bear  {Ursus  ardos,  L.) 

The  mouse  {Mus  flavicollis,  Mel.). 

There  are  also  traces  of  a  smaller  species  of  ox.  The  Lithu- 
anian aurochs  {Bison  europcBUs)  has  been  found,  though 
rarely,  in  the  peat  bogs,  but  not  yet  in  the  Kjokkenmod- 
dings.  The  musk  ox  {Ovibos  moschatus)  and  the  domestic 
ox  {Bos  taurus),  as  well  as  the  reindeer,  the  elk,  the  hare,  the 
sheep,  and  the  domestic  hog,  are  all  absent*. 

Professor  Steenstrup  does  not,  believe  that  the  domestic 
hog  of  ancient  Europe  was  directly  derived  from  the  wild 
boar,  but  rather  that  it  was  introduced  from  the  east ;  and 
the  skulls  which  he  showed  me  in  support  of  this  belief  cer- 
tainly exhibited  very  great  differences  between  the  two  races. 
The  sheep,  the  horse,  and  the  reindeer  are  entirely  absent, 
the  domestic  cat  was  not  known  in  Europe  until  about  the 

*  It  is  a  curious  fact  that,  as  Prof.  land  indicate,  as  a  general  rule,  larger 
Steenstrup  informs  me,  the  bones  and  more  powerful  animals  than  those 
from  the   Kjokkenmoddings  of  Jut-       of  the  Islands. 


I 


CONDITION  OP  THE  BONES.  235 

nintli  century,  and  the  bones  of  the  urus  are  probably  those 
of  wild  specimens,  so  that  the  dog  *  appears  to  have  been  the 
only  domestic  animal  of  the  period;  and  though  it  may 
fairly  be  asked  whether  the  bones  may  not  have  belonged  to 
a  race  of  wild  dogs,  the  question  admits  of  a  satisfactory 
answer. 

Among  the  remains  of  birds,  the  long  bones  which  form 
about  one  fifth  of  the  skeleton,  are,  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings, 
about  twenty  times  as  numerous  as  the  others,  and  are  almost 
always  imperfect,  the  shaft  only  remaining.  In  the  same 
manner  it  would  be  impossible  to  reconstruct  a  perfect  skele- 
ton of  the  quadrupeds,  certain  bones  and  parts  of  bones  being 
always  absent.  In  the  case  of  the  ox,  for  instance,  the 
missing  parts  are  the  heads  of  the  long  bones  (though  while 
the  shaft  only  of  the  femur  is  found,  in  the  humerus  one  end 
is  generally  perfect),  the  back  bone  except  the  first  two 
vertebrsB,  the  spinous  processes,  and  often  the  ribs,  and  the 
bones  of  the  skull  except  the  lower  jaw  and  the  portion 
round  the  eyes.  It  occurred  to  Prof.  Stcenstrup  that  these 
curious  results  might,  perhaps,  be  referred  to  dogs;  and, 
on  trying  the  experiment,  he  ascertained  that  the  bones 
which  are  absent  from  the  Kjokkenmoddings  are  precisely 
those  which  dogs  cat,  and  those  which  are  present  are  the 
parts  which  are  hard  and  solid  and  do  not  contain  much 
nourishment.  Prof.  Steenstrup  has  since  published  a  diagram 
of  a  skeleton,  tinted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  at  a  glance 
which  of  the  bones  occur  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings,  and 
points  out  that  it  coincides  exactly  with  one  given  by  M. 
Flourens  to  illustrate  those  portions  of  the  skeleton  which 
are  first  formed.  Although  a  glance  at  the  longitudinal 
section  of  a  long  bone,  as,  for  instance,  of  a  femur,  and  a 
comparison  of  the  open  cancellated  tissue  of  the  two  ends 

*  From  tho  marks  of  knives  on  the       was  then,  as  it  is  still  among  several 
bones,  it  seems  evident  that  the  dog       savage  tribes,  an  article  of  food. 


236  PREVALENCE    OF   CERTAIN   BONES. 

with  the  solid,  close  texture  of  the  shaft,  at  once  justifies  and 
accounts  for  the  selection  made  by  the  dogs,  it  is  interesting 
thus  to  ascertain  that  their  predilections  were  the  same  in 
primaeval  times  as  at  present.  Moreover,  we  may  in  this 
manner  explain  the  prevalence  of  some  bones  in  fossil  strata. 
I  have  already  mentioned  that  of  the  skull,  the  hard  parts 
round  the  eye  and  the  lower  jaw  are  the  only  parts  left ; 
now  the  preponderance  of  lower  jaws  in  a  fossil  state  is  well 
known. 

For  instance,  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Geological  Society 
for  1857,"  p.  277,  Dr.  Falconer,  after  describing  some  of  the 
fossils  found  by  Mr.  Beccles  at  Swanage,  says : — "  The 
curious  fact  that  only  lower  jaws  should  have  turned  up 
among  the  Stonesfield  mammalian  remains  has  often  been  the 
subject  of  speculation  or  remark.  The  same,  to  a  certain 
extent,  has  held  good  with  the  remains  found  in  the  Purbeck 

beds In  these  minute  creatures,  unless   the  bone 

be  complete,  and,  supposing  it  to  be  a  long  bone,  with  both 
its  articular  surfaces  perfect,  it  is  almost  hopeless,  or  at  any 
rate  very  discouraging,  to  attempt  to  make  out  the  creature 
that  yielded  it ;  whereas  the  smallest  fragment  of  a  jaw,  with 
a  minute  tooth  in  it,  speaks  volumes  of  evidence  at  the  first 
glance.  This  I  believe  to  be  one  great  reason  why  we  hear 
so  much  of  jaw  remains,  and  so  little  of  other  bones.''  No 
doubt  it  is  so,  but  these  observations,  made  by  Prof.  Steen- 
strup,  afibrd  a  farther  explanation  of  the  fact,  and  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  parts  of  the  long  bones  which  are  most 
important  to  the  palseontologist  are  also  those  which  are 
preferred  by  beasts  of  prey. 

In  every  case  the  bones  which  contained  marrow  are  split 
open  in  the  manner  best  adapted  for  its  extraction;  this 
peculiarity,  which  is  in  itself  satisfactory  proof  of  the  pre- 
sence of  man,  has  not  yet  been  observed  in  bones  from  the 
true  tertiary  strata. 


k 


HABITS    OF   THE    MOUND-BUILDERS.  237 

The  Kjokkcnmuddiugs  were  not  mere  summer  quarters ; 
the  ancient  fishermen  resided  on  these  spots  for  at  least  two- 
thirds,  if  not  the  whole  of  the  year.  This  we  learn  from  an 
examination  of  the  bones  of  the  wild  animals,  as  it  is  often 
possible  to  determine,  within  very  narrow  limits,  the  time  of 
year  at  which  they  were  killed.  For  instance,  the  remains 
of  the  wild  swan  {Cygnus  musicus)  are  very  common,  and 
this  bird  is  only  a  winter  visitor,  leaving  the  Danish  coasts 
in  March,  and  returning  in  November.  It  might  natuj'ally 
have  been  hoped  that  the  remains  of  young  birds  would 
have  supplied  evidence  as  to  the  spring  and  early  summer, 
but  unfortunately,  as  has  been  already  explained,  no  such 
bones  are  to  be  found.  It  is,  therefore,  fortunate  that  among 
the  mammalia  two  periodical  phenomena  occur ;  namely,  the 
shedding  and  reproduction  of  stags'  antlers,  which,  with 
slight  variations  according  to  age,  have  a  fixed  season ;  and, 
secondly,  the  birth  and  growth  of  the  young.  These,  and 
similar  phenomena,  render  it  highly  probable  that  the 
"  mound-builders  "  resided  on  the  Danish  coast  all  the  year 
round,  though  I  am  disposed  to  think  that,  like  the  Fuegians, 
who  lead,  even  now,  a  very  similar  life,  they  frequently  moved 
from  spot  to  spot.  This  appears  to  me  to  be  indicated  not 
only  by  the  condition  of  the  deserted  hearths,  but  by  the 
colour  of  the  flint  flakes,  etc. ;  for  while  many  of  these  retain 
the  usual  dull  bluish  black  colour  which  is  characteristic  of 
newly-broken  flints,  and  which  remains  unaltered  as  long 
as  they  are  surrounded  by  carbonate  of  lime,  others  are 
whitened,  as  is  usual  with  those  which  have  been  exposed 
for  any  length  of  time.  Perhaps,  therefore,  these  were  lying 
on  the  surface  during  some  period  of  desertion,  and  covered 
over  only  when  the  place  was  again  inhabited. 

The  flint  implements  found  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings  re- 
semble those  which  are  characteristic  of  the  '^  coastfinds." 
They  may  be  classed  as  flakes  (figs.  82-96)  ;  "  Shell-mound  " 


238 


FLINT    IMPLEMENTS 


axes,  wliicbj  as  we  have  already  observed,  present  a  peculiar 

Fig.  172. 


Lance-heads. 


form  (figs.   108-110,  and  pi.  1,  figs.  8,  9),  awls  (fig.  172), 


PROM    THE    SIIELL-MOUNDS. 


239 


slingstones  or  net-wciglits  (pi.  1,  fig.  12),  and  rude  lance- 
bcads  (figs.  173-175).  With  these  occur  other  forms,  which, 
though  very  rude,  are  evidently  artificial,  such  as  fig.  176, 
which  appears  to  have  been  a  kind  of  axe,  and  others  of  which 
the  sharp  edges  were  evidently  used  for  cutting  purposes. 

Fig.  176. 


Rude  Flint  Implement.  . 

In  the  two  days  which  we  spent  at  Meilgaard,  we  found 
the  following  objects  : — 

"  {5hell -mound  "  axes 19 

Flint  flakes 139 

Bone  pins,  etc 6 

Horns 6 

Pottery,  only 4  pieces 

Stone  hammer 1 

Slingstones,  about 20 

195 

Of  the  three  "  pillars  "  of  material,  just  alluded  to  (p.  232), 
the  first  contained  seven  flint  flakes,  two  axes,  one  worked 
piece  of  horn,  three  worked  pieces  of  bone,  and  some  pottery; 
in  the  second  were  sixteen  flint  flakes,  one  axe,  and  seven 
slingstones ;  in  the  third,  four  flint  flakes,  two  flint  axes, 
and  a  pointed  bone.  In  short,  without  appearing  to  bo 
richer  than  other  Kjckkenmoddings,  Meilgaard  and  Havelso 
have  each  produced  already  more  than  a  thousand  of  these 
rude  relics,  though  but  a  small  portion  of  the  mound  has 


240  ABSENCE   or    POLISHED   FLINT   IMPLEMENTS. 

in  eitlier  case  been  hitlierto  removed.  We  need  not,  there- 
fore, wonder  at  tlie  number  of  axes  found  in  the  valley  of 
the  Somme,  where  so  much  larger  a  mass  of  material  has 
been  examined. 

None  of  the  large  polished  axes  have  yet  been  found  in 
the  Kjokkenmoddings  :  but  a  fragment  of  one,  which  was 
discovered  at  Havelse,  and  which  had  been  worked  up  into  a 
scraper,  shows'  that  they  were  not  altogether  unknown.  A 
very  few  carefully  formed  weapons  have  been  found,  but  the 
implements  generally  are  very  rude,  and  of  the  same  types 
as  those  which  have  been  already  described  as  characteristic 
of  the  ^^Coastfinds.^^  Small  pieces  of  very  coarse  pottery 
have  also  been  discovered,  and  many  of  the  bones  from  the 
Kjokkenmoddiags  bear  evident  marks  of  a  sharp  instrument; 
several  of  the  pieces  found  by  us  were  in  this  condition,  and 
had  been  fashioned  into  rude  pins. 

The  observations  of  Arctic  travellers  prove  that  even  if 
human  bones  had  been  found  in  the  shell-mounds,  this 
would  not  of  itself  be  any  evidence  of  cannibalism ;  but  the 
absence  of  such  remains  satisfactorily  shows  that  the  primi- 
tive population  of  the  North  were  free  from  this  practice. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  tumuli  have  supplied  us  with 
numerous  skeletons  which  probably  belong  to  the  Stone  Age. 
The  skulls  are  very  round,  and  in  many  respects  resemble 
those  of  the  Lapps,  but  have  a  more  projecting  ridge  over 
the  eye.  One  curious  peculiarity  is,  that  their  front  teeth 
did  not  overlap  as  ours  do,  but  met  one  another,  as  do  those 
of  the  Greenlanders  of  the  present  day.  This  evidently 
indicates  a  peculiar  manner  of  eating. 

Much  as  stni  remains  to  be  made  out  respecting  the  men 
of  the  Stone  period,  the  facts  already  ascertained,  like  a  few 
strokes  by  a  clever  draughtsman,  supply  us  with  the  elements 
of  an  outline  sketch.  Carrying  our  imagination  back  into 
the  past,  we  see  before  us  on  the  low  shores  of  the  Danish 


FOOD   OF  THE    SHELL-MOUND   BUILDERS.  241 

Arcliipelago  a  race  of  small  men,  with  heavy  overhanging 
brows,  round  heads,  and  faces  probably  much  like  those  of 
the  present  Laplanders.  As  they  must  evidently  have  had 
some  protection  from  the  weather,  it  is  most  probable  that 
they  lived  in  tents  made  of  skins.  The  total  absence  of 
metal  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings  indicates  that  they  had  not 
yet  any  weapons  except  those  made  of  wood,  stone,  horn,  and 
bone.  Their  principal  food  must  have  consisted  of  shell-fish, 
but  they  were  able  to  catch  fish,  and  often  varied  their  diet 
by  game  caught  in  hunting.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  uncharitable 
to  conclude  that,  when  their  hunters  were  unusually  suc- 
cessful, the  whole  community  gorged  itself  with  food,  as  is 
the  case  with  many  savage  races  at  the  present  time.  It  is 
evident  that  marrow  was  considered  a  great  delicacy,  for 
every  single  bone  which  contained  any  was  split  open  in  the 
manner  best  adapted  to  extract  the  precious  morsel. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  mound-builders  were 
regular  settlers  and  not  mere  summer  visitors ;  and  on  the 
whole  they  seem  to  have  lived  in  very  much  the  same 
manner  as  the  Tierra  del  Fucgians,  who  dwell  on  the  coast, 
feed  principally  on  shell-fish,  and  have  the  dog  as  their  only 
domestic  animal.  A  very  good  account  of  them  is  given  in 
Darwin's  Journal  (p.  234),  from  which  I  extract  the  follow- 
ing passages,  which  give  us  a  vivid  and  probably  correct 
idea  of  what  might  have  been  seen  on  the  Danish  shores, 
long,  long  ago.  "  Th'e  inhabitants,  living  chiefly  upon  shell- 
fish, are  obliged  constantly  to  change  their  place  of  residence; 
but  they  return  at  intervals  to  the  same  spots,  as  is  evident 
from  the  pile  of  old  shells,  which  must  often  amount  to  somo 
tons  in  weight.  These  heaps  can  be  distinguished  at  a  long 
distance  by  the  bright  green  colour  of  certain  plants  which 

invariably  grow  on  them The  Fuegian  wigwam 

resembles,  in  size  and   dimensions,  a  haycock.     It   merely 
consists  of  a  few  broken  branches  stuck  in  the  ground,  and 
18 


242  THE   FUEGIANS- 

very  imperfectly  thatched  on  one  side  with  a  few  tufts  of 
grass  and  rushes.    The  whole  cannot  be  so  much  as  the  work 

of  an  hour^  and  it  is  only  used  for  a  few  days At  a 

subsequent  period^  the  Beagle  anchored  for  a  couple  of  days 
under  Wollaston  Island_,  which  is  a  short  way  to  the  north- 
ward. While  going  on  shore,  we  pulled  alongside  a  canoe 
with  six  Fuegians.  These  were  the  most  abject  and  miser- 
able creatures  I  any  where  beheld.  On  the  east  coast,  the 
natives,  as  we  have  seen,  have  guanaco  cloaks,  and  on  the 
west,  they  possess  sealskins.  Amongst  the  central  tribes  the 
men  generally  possess  an  otter-skin,  or  some  small  scrap  about 
as  large  as  a  pocket-handkerchief,  which  is  barely  sufficient 
to  cover  their  backs  as  low  down  as  their  loins.  It  is  laced 
across  the  breast  by  strings,  and  according  as  the  wind 
blows,  it  is  shifted  from  side  to  side.  But  these  Fuegians 
in  the  canoe  were  quite  naked,  and  even  one  full-grown 
woman  was  absolutely  so.  It  was  raining  heavily,  and  the 
fresh  water,   together   with   the  spray,  trickled    dowTi  her 

body These  poor  wretches  were  stunted  in  their 

growth,  their  hideous  faces  bedaubed  with  white  paint,  their 
skins  filthy  and  greasy,  their  hair  entangled,  their  voices 
discordant,  their  gestures  violent  and  without  dignity. 
Yiewing  such  men,  one  can  hardly  make  oneself  believe  they 
are  fellow-creatures  and  inhabitants  of  the  same  world.  .  .  . 
At  night,  five  or  six  human  beings,  naked,  and  scarcely  pro- 
tected from  the  wind  and  rain  of  this'  tempestuous  climate, 
sleep  on  the  wet  ground  coiled  up  like  animals.  Whenever 
it  is  low  water,  they  must  rise  to  pick  shell-fish  from  the 
rocks;  and  the  women,  winter  and  summer,  either  dive  to 
collect  sea  eggs,  or  sit  patiently  in  their  canoes,  and,  with  a 
baited  hair-line,  jerk  out  small  fish.  If  a  seal  is  killed,  or 
the  floating  carcase  of  a  putrid  whale  discovered,  it  is  a 
feast :  such  miserable  food  is  assisted  by  a  few  tasteless 
berries  and  fungi.     Nor  are  they  exempt  from  famine,  and. 


THE    RELATION    OF   THE    SHELL-MOUNDS    TO    THE    TUMULI.      243 

as  a  consequence,  cannibalism  accompanied  by  paiTicide." 
In  this  latter  respect,  however,  the  advantage  appears  to  be 
all  on  the  side  of  the  ancients,  whom  we  have  no  right  to 
accuse  of  cannibalism. 

If  the  absence  of  cereal  remains  justifies  us,  as  it  appears 
to  do,  in  concluding  that  they  had  no  knowledge  of  agri- 
culture, they  must  certainly  have  sometimes  suffered  from 
periods  of  great  scarcity,  indications  of  which  may,  perhaps, 
be  seen  in  the  bones  of  the  fox,  wolf,  and  other  carnivora, 
which  would  hardly  have  been  eaten  from  choice;  on  the 
other  hand,  they  were  blessed  in  the  ignorance  of  spirituous 
liquors,  and  saved  thereby  from  what  is  at  present  the 
greatest  scourge  of  Northern  Europe. 

Prof.  Worsaae  has  proposed  to  divide  the  Stone  Age  into 
two  divisions,  the  first  of  which  he  again  sub-divides.  His 
classification  stands  as  follows  : — 

The  Older  Stone  Age. 

1.  The  stone  implements  found  in  the  drift,  and  in  caves 
with  remains  of  the  mammoth,  rhinoceros,  Hyeena,  and  other 
extinct  animals. 

2.  The  Kjokkenmoddings  and  Coastfinds. 

The  Later  Stone  Age. 

Characterized  by  the  beautifully  worked  stone  implements 
and  large  tumuli. 

The  shell-mounds  and  coastfinds,  according  to  Professor 
Worsaae,  are  characterized  by  very  rough  flint  implements 
(figs.  108-10, 172-6)  and  are  the  remains  of  a  much  ruder  and 
more  barbarous  people  than  that  which  constructed  the  large 
Stone  Age  tumuli,  and  made  the  beautiful  weapons,  etc., 
found  in  them.  He  does  not  altogether  deny  that  a  few 
well-worked  implements,  and  fragments  of  such,  have  been 
found  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings,  but  he  considers  that  some 
of  these  at  least*  may  be  altogether  more  recent  than  the 


244  THE    EELATION    OF   THE    SHELL-MOUNDS 

shell-mounds  in  wliicli  they  are  reported  to  have  been  found, 
and^  at  any  rate,  that  their  presence  is  altogether  exceptional. 
At  Meilgaard,  for  instance,  the  researches  undertaken  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  late  king  in  June,  1861,  produced 
more  than  five  hundred  flint  flakes  and  other  rude  implements, 
but  not  a  single  specimen  with  a  trace  of  polisTiing,  or  in  any 
way  resembling  the  flint  implements  found  in  the  tumuli. 
On  the  other  hand  these  rude  implements  are  said  to  be 
wanting  in  the  tumuli,  where  they  are  replaced  by  instru- 
ments of  a  diSerent  character  and  more  skilful  workmanship. 
Moreover,  while  it  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  shell- 
mound  makers  had  no  domestic  animal  but  the  dog,  and  no 
knowledge  of  agriculture,  Pj-of.  Worsaae  considers  that  during 
the  later  Stone  Age,  the  inhabitants  of  Denmark  certainly 
possessed  tame  cattle  and  horse"  and  had  in  all  probability 
some  knowledge  of  agriculture. 

Prof.  Steenstrup  is  of  an  entirely  difierent  opinion,  and 
considers  that  the  Kjokkenmoddings  and  Stone  Age  tumuli 
were  contemporaneous.  He  denies  altogether  that  remains  of 
tame  oxen  or  horses  have  been  found  in  tumuli  of  the  Stone 
Age,-  except  in  very  few  instances,  and  in  these  he  maintains 
that  the  fragments  which  have  occurred  are  evidently  not 
coeval  with  the  mounds  themselves,  and  that  in  all  proba- 
bility they  have  been  introduced  by  foxes.  He  admits  that 
the  stone  implements  from  the  shell-mounds  and  coastfinds 
are  altogether  difierent  from,  and  much  ruder  than,  those 
from  the  tumuli;  he  considers  the  two  classes  as  representing, 
not  two  different  degrees,  but  two  different  phases  of  one 
single  condition  of  civilization.  The  tumuli  are  the  burial 
places  of  chiefs,  the  Kjokkenmoddings  are  the  refuse  heaps 
of  fishermen.  The  first  contain  all  that  skill  could  contx'ive, 
affection  offer,  or  wealth  command ;  the  second,  those  things 
only  which  art  could  not  make  available,  which  were 
thrown   away   as   useless,    or   accidentally  lost.     In   order. 


TO    THE   TUMULI.  245 

therefore,  to  compare  these  two  classes  of  objects,  we  must 
take, — ^not  the  ordinary  rude  specimens  which  are  so  numerous 
in  the  shell-mounds,  but  the  few  better  made  implements  which, 
fortunately  for  Science  and  for  us,  were  lost  among  the  oyster- 
shells,  or  which  had  been  broken,  and  therefore  thrown  away. 
These,  though  few  in  number,  are,  in  Professor  Steenstrup's 
opinion  quite  as  numerous  as  could  have  been  expected  under 
the  circumstances.  Moreover,  the  long  flint  flakes,  which 
are  so  common  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings,  arc  sufiicient  evi- 
dence that  great  skill  in  the  treatment  of  flint  had  already 
been  attained.  Indeed,  as  Professor  Steenstrup  has  pointed 
out,  wc  ai'e  apt,  in  consequence  of  their  simplicity,  and  the 
small  number  of  blows  required  in  forming  these  flakes,  to 
underrate  the  skill  required  for  their  manufacture.  Any  one, 
however,  who  will  try  to  make  some  for  himself,  while  he 
will  probably  be  very  unsuccessful,  will  at  least  learn  a 
valuable  lesson  in  the  appreciation  of  flint  implements.  Some 
of  the  flakes  found  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings  are  equal  to  any 
from  the  tumuli ;  several  of  those  which  we  found  at  Meil- 
gaard  were  more  than  five,  and  one  was  more  than  six,  inches 
in  length,  while  I  have  in  my  possession  a  giant  flake  from 
Fannerup  (figs.  82-84),  given  to  me  by  Professor  Steenstrup, 
which  has  a  length  of  eight  inches  and  three  quarters.  As 
regards  the  rude,  more  or  less  triangular  ^'axes^^  (Sgs- 
108-10)  which  are  so  characteristic  of  the  Kjokkenmoddings 
and  coastfinds.  Prof.  Steenstrup,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
declines  to  compare  them  with  the  poHshed  axes  of  the 
tumuli,  because  in  his  opinion  they  were  not  intended  for 
the  same  purposes.  In  addition  to  the  dii'ect  evidence 
derived  from  the  discovery  of  some  few  well-made  flint  axes 
of  the  tumulus  type.  Professor  Steenstrup  relies  much  on  the 
indirect  evidence  derivable  from  the  other  contents  of  the 
shell-mounds.  Thus  the  frequent  remains  of  large  and 
full-grown  animals,  for  instance  of  the  seal;  and   the  wild 


246  THE    OPINIONS    OF 

OX,  are  in  his  opinion  sufficient  evidence  that  the  shell-mound 
builders  must  have  had  weapons  more  useful  and  destructive 
than  any  which  Prof.  Worsaae  will  concede  to  them;  more- 
over^  he  considers  that  many  of  the  cuts  which  are  so  common 
on  the  bones  found  in  the  shell-heaps  must  have  been  made 
by  polished  implements,  and  are  too  smooth  to  be  the  marks 
of  flint  flakes,  according  to  the  suggestion  of  Professor 
Worsaae.  Finally,  Professor  Steenstrup,  though  not  at- 
tributing so  much  weight  as  Professor  Worsaae  to  the 
absence  of  the  ruder  implements  from  the  tumuli,  even  if 
this  had  been  the  case,  disputes  the  fact  on  the  ground 
that  these  implements  would  not  until  recently  have  been 
recognized  and  collected,  and  that  they  have,  in  fact,  been 
found  whenever  they  were  looked  for. 

After  having  carefully  considered  the  evidence  on  both 
sides,  I  find  myself,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  unable 
altogether  to  agree  with  either. 

The  small  rude  axes  seem  to  me  even  less  well  adapted  to 
the  purpose  suggested  by  Prof.  Steenstrup,  than  for  those 
which  have  generally  been  attributed  to  them.  There  are, 
no  doubt,  some  which  could  never  have  been  used  for  cutting, 
but  these  may  have  been  failures,  owing  to  some  want  of  skill 
on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer,  or  some  flaw  in  the  flint 
itself.  Others  appear  to  me,  as  to  Prof.  Worsaae,  serviceable, 
though  rude;  and  well  adapted  for  some  purpose  (possibly  for 
oyster  dredging  or  chopping  wood),  which  required  a  strong, 
rather  than  a  sharp  edge.  They  also  very  closely  resemble 
in  form  some  of  the  adzes  used  by  the  South  Sea  Islanders, 
one  of  which  I  have  figured  for  comparison  (see  pp.  98,  99). 
They  seem  to  me,  however,  as  to  Prof.  Steenstrup,  to  differ 
in  character  from  the  well-made  and  generally  polished 
axes,  and  not  to  be  ruder  implements  of  the  same  type. 
Although  the  carefully  formed  knives,  axes,  lance-heads,  etc., 
would  not  be  likely  to  abound  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings,  any 


MESSRS.    STEENSTRUP   AND   WORSAAE.  247 

more  than  works  of  art,  or  objects  of  value,  in  modern  dust- 
heaps  ;  still  I  confess  I  should  have  expected  that  fragments 
of  these  instruments,  recognizaUle  to  us,  though  useless  to 
their  original  owners,  would  have  been  more  numerous  than, 
in  reality,  they  appear  to  be. 

In  addition  to  the  five  hundred  rude  implements,  described 
by  Prof.  Worsaae,  as  having  been  found  at  Mcilgaard  during 
the  king's  visit,  I  myself  obtained  a  hundred  and  forty  flint 
flakes,  with  about  fifty  other  implements,  in  the  visit  to 
this  celebrated  locality  which  I  made  last  year  under  the 
guidance  of  Prof.  Steenstrup.  To  these,  again,  must  be 
added  many  which  had  previously  been  collected  by  M. 
Olsen,  and  the  members  of  the  Kjokkenmodding  committee  ; 
and  yet  among  so  largo  a  number  of  instruments  of  various 
kinds  there  is  only  one  which  in  any  respect  resembles  tho 
well-worked  implements  of  the  tumuli.  So,  again,  at  Havelse 
only  a  single  fragment  of  a  polished  axe  has  been  found 
among  more  than  a  thousand  objects  of  the  ruder  kind.  It 
might,  however,  fairly  be  urged  that  in  such  a  comparison, 
neither  the  flakes  nor  ''  sliugstones  "  ought  to  be  brought 
into  consideration ;  in  this  case,  and  if  we  were  to  count  the 
axes  only,  the  numbers  would  be  greatly  diminished. 

There  is  also  much  weight  in  Prof.  Steenstrup's  argument 
derived  from  the  flint  flakes,  and  he  has  not  at  all  exag- 
gerated the  skill  shown  in  their  manufacture.  Their  edges, 
however,  are  so  sharp  that  it  would,  I  cannot  help  thinking, 
be  very  difficult  to  distinguish  a  cut  produced  by  a  flake, 
from  one  made  by  a  ground  axe.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
alleged  absence  of  rude  implements  in  the  Stone  Age  barrows 
has  been  satisfactorily  explained  by  Professor  Steenstrup. 
In  this  country  it  might  be  argued  from  the  statements  of  so 
intelligent  an  antiquary  as  Sir  R.  Colt  Hoare,  that  rude  im- 
plements were  never,  or  very  rarely,  found  in  tumuli,  but 
the  more  recent  researches  of  Mr.  Bateman,  Mr.  Greenwell, 


248  ANTIQUITY   OF   THE    SHELL-MOUNDS. 

and  other  archaeologists,  have  shown  that  this  is  very  far 
from  being  the  case,  and  have  made  it  evident  that  the  ruder 
implements  of  stone  were  overlooked  by  the  earlier  archae- 
ologists. In  the  tumuli  examined  by  Mr.  Bateman,  he  ob- 
tained many  flint  flakes,  etc.,  quite  as  rude  as  those  which 
are  found  in  the  shell-mounds.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  however, 
none  of  the  small  triangular  axes,  which  are  so  characteristic 
of  the  shell-mounds,  have  yet  been  met  with  in  the  tumuli. 
Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  has  a  single  specimen, resembling 
those  which  are  characteristic  of  the  Palaeolithic  Age,  yet 
been  found  in  the  shell-mounds. 

Finally,  as  regards  the  supposed  remains  of  domestic 
animals  (other  than  the  dog)  in  Stone  Age  tumuli,  the  evi- 
dence brought  forward  by  Professor  Worsaae  seems  to  me 
inconclusive,  which,  however,  is  of  the  less  consequence,  as 
the  point  will  certainly  be  determined  ere  long,  now  that 
attention  has  specially  been  directed  to  it. 

On  the  whole,  the  evidence  appears  to  show  that  the 
Danish  shell-mounds  represent  a  definite  period  in  the  history 
of  that  country,  and  are  probably  referable  to  the  early  part 
of  the  Neolithic  Stone  Age,  when  the  art  of  polishing  flint 
implements  was  known,  but  before  it  had  reached  its  greatest 
development. 

-  It  is,  however,  as  yet,  impossible  to  affix  even  an  approxi- 
mate date  in  years  to  the  formation  of  the  Kjokkenmoddings. 
Their  accumulation,  indeed,  must  evidently  have  occupied  a 
considerable  period,  and  it  is  of  course  highly  probable  that 
some  are  much  older  than  others.  They  must  all,  however, 
be  of  very  considerable  antiquity.  We  know  that  the 
country  has  long  been  covered  by  beech  forests,  and  yet  it 
appears  that  during  the  Bronze  Age  beeches  were  absent, 
or  only  represented  by  stragglers,  while  "fche  whole  country 
was  covered  with  oaks.  This  change  implies  a  great  lapse 
of  time,  even  if  we  suppose  that  but  a  few  generations  of 


ANTIQUITY    OF    THE    SHELL-MOUNDS.  249 

oaks  succeeded  one  another.  We  know  also  that  the  oaks 
had  been  preceded  by  pines,  and  that  the  countiy  was  in- 
habited even  then. 

Again,  the  immense  number  of  objects  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  which  have  been  already  found  in  Denmark, 
and  the  great  number  of  tumuli,  appear  to  justify  the 
Danish  archseologists  in  assigning  to  this  period  a  great 
lapse  of  time.  This  argument  applies  with  peculiar  force 
to  the  remains  of  the  Stone  period ;  for  a  country,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  which  live  by  hunting  and  fishing,  can  never  be 
thickly  populated;  and,  on  the  whole,  the  conclusion  is  forced 
upon  us,  that  the  country  must  have  been  inhabited  for  a 
lengthened  period,  although  none  of  the  Danish  remains  yet 
discovered  belong  to  a  time  as  ancient  as  some  of  those 
which  have  been  found  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  which 
will  be  described  in  subsequent  chapters. 


250 


CHAPTEE  Yin. 


NOETH  AMEEICAN  AECH^OLOGY. 


OUR  knowledge  of  Nortli  American  Archgeology  is  de- 
rived mainly  from  the  valuable  researches  of  Mr,  Caleb 
Atwater,  contained  in  tlie  fii'st  volume  of  the  Archseologia 
Americana^  and  from  four  excellent  memoirs  published  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  : — 1 .  Ancient 
Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley^  comprising  the  Re- 
sults of  extensive  Original  Surveys  and  Explorations,  by 
E.  G.  Squier,  A.M.,  and  E.  H.  Davis,  M.D.  2.  Aboriginal 
Monuments  of  the  State  of  New  York,  comprising  the 
Results  of  Original  Surveys  and  Explorations,  with  an  illus- 
trative Appendix;  by  E.  G.  Squiei',  A.M.  3.  The  Antiqui- 
ties of  Wisconsin,  as  surveyed  and  described  by  J.  A. 
Lapham.  4.  The  Archaeology  of  the  United  States,  or 
Sketches,  Historical  and  Biographical,  of  the  Progress  of 
Information  and  Opinion  respecting  Vestiges  of  Antiquity  in 
the  United  States;  by  Samuel  F.  Haven.  Nor  must  I 
omit  to  mention  Schoolcraft's  History,  Condition,  and  Pro- 
spects of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States. 

The  memoir  by  Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis,  occupying  more 
than  three  hundred  pages,  is  chiefly  descriptive  of  ancient 
fortifications,  enclosures,  temples,  and  mounds,  and  of  the 
different  implements,  ornaments,  etc.,  which  have  been  ob- 
tained from  them.  It  is  embellished  with  forty-eight  plates, 
and  two  hundred  and  seven  woodcuts. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  251 

111  his  second  work,  Mr.  Squier  confines  himself  to  the 
antiquities  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Within  these  limits, 
however,  he  describes  many  ancient  monuments  of  various 
kinds,  and  he  feels  "  warranted  in  estimating  the  number 
which  originally  existed  in  the  State  at  from  two  hundred 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty."  He  comes  to  the  conclusion, 
"  little  anticipated,"  he  says,  "  when  I  started  on  my  trip  of 
exploration,"  that  the  earthworks  of  Western  New  York 
were  erected  by  the  Iroquois,  or  their  western  neighbours, 
and  do  not  possess  any  very  great  antiquity. 

The  systematic  exploration  of  the  ancient  remains  in  the 
State  of  Wisconsin,  described  in  the  memoir  by  Mr.  Lapham, 
was  undertaken  on  behalf  of  the  American  Antiquarian 
Society,  by  which  the  necessary  funds  were  provided.  Tlio 
cost  of  the  publication,  however,  which  from  the  great  num- 
ber of  engravings  (fifty-five  plates,  besides  sixty-one  wood 
engravings)  was  considerable,  was  defrayed  by  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  and  the  work  is  included  in  the  seventh 
volume  of  "  Contributions." 

Mr.  Haven's  work  is  well  described  in  the  title,  and  forms 
an  interesting  introduction  to  the  study  of  North  American 
Archa)ology.  He  gives  us  comparatively  few  observations  or 
opinions  of  his  own;  but  after  a  careful  examination  of  what 
others  have  written,  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
ancient  earthworks  of  the  United  States  "  difior  less  in  kind 
than  in  degree  from  other  remains  concerning  which  history 
has  not  been  entirely  silent.  Tliey  are  more  numerous,  more 
concentrated,  and  in  some  particulars  on  a  larger  scale  of 
labour,  than  the  works  which  approach  them  on  their  several 
borders,  and  with  whose  various  characters  they  are  blended. 
Their  numbers  may  be  the  result  of  frequent  changes  of 
residence  by  a  comparatively  limited  population,  in  accord- 
ance* with  a  superstitious  trait  of  the  Indian  nature,  leading 
to  the  abandonment  of  places  where  any  great  calamity  has 


252  CLASSIFICATION    OP   ANTIQUITIES. 

been  suffered ;  but  they  appear  rather  to  indicate  a  country 
thickly  inhabited  for  a  period  long  enough  to  admit  of  the 
progressive  enlargement  and  extension  of  its  movements." 

Although  Mr.  Schoolcraft^s  work  is  more  especially  de- 
voted to  the  presentj  or  recent^  condition  and  habits  of  the 
Indian  tribes^  still  he  gives  us  much  archaeological  informa- 
tion, and  I  shall  have  occasion  frequently  to  quote  from  his 
elaborate  work. 

The  antiquities  themselves  fall  into  two  great  divisions : 
Implements  (including  ornaments)  and  Earthworks.  The 
earthworks  have  been  again  divided  by  the  American  Archae- 
ologists into  seven  classes  : — 1.  Defensive  enclosures;  2. 
Sacred  and  miscellaneous  enclosures;  3.  Sepulchral  mounds; 
4.  Sacrificial  mounds;  5.  Temple  mounds;  6.  "Animal" 
mounds;  and  7.  Miscellaneous  mounds.  These  classes  I 
shall  treat  separately,  and  we  can  then  better  consider  the 
"  mound-builders"  themselves. 

The  simple  weapons  of  bone  and  stone,  found  in  America, 
closely  resemble  those  which  occur  in  other  countries. 
The  flakes,  hatchets,  axes,  arrow-heads,  and  bone  imple- 
ments are,  for  instance,  very  similar  to  those  which  occur 
in  the  Swiss  Lakes,  if  only  we  make  allowance  for  the' 
differences  of  material.  In  addition  to  the  simple  forms, 
which  may  almost  be  said  to  be  ubiquitous,  there  are  some, 
however,  which  are  more  complicated.  In  many  cases  they 
are  perforated,  as  for  instance  those  figured  by  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis*.  The  perforated  axes  found  in  Europe  are  gene- 
rally considered  to  belong  to  the  Metallic  Age ;  but  as  far  as 
America  is  concerned,  we  have  not  yet  any  evidence  as  to 
the  relative  antiquity  of  the  perforated  and  imperforated 
types. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America,  iron  was  abso- 

*  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.     By  E.   S.  Squier  and 
E.  H.  Davis. 


IMPLEMENTS. 


253 


Fig.  177. 


lutelj  unknoTSTi  to  the  natives,  witli  the  exception,  perhaps, 
of  a  tribe  near  the  mouth  of  the  La  Plata,  who  had  arrows 
tipped  with  this  metal,  which  they  are  supposed  to  have 
obtained  from  masses  of  native  iron.  The  powerful  nations 
of  Central  America  were,  however,  in  an  ago  of  Bronze, 
while  the  North  Americans  were  in  a  condition  of  which  we 
find  in  Europe  but  scanty  traces — namely,  in  an  age  of 
Copper.  Silver  is  the  only  other  metal  which  has  been  found 
in  the  ancient  tumuli,  and  that  but  in  very  small  quantities. 
It  occurs  sparingly  in  a  native  form  with  the  copper  of  Lake 
Superior,  whence,  in  all  probability,  it  was  derived.  It  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  ever  smelted.  From  the  large 
quantity  of  galena  which  is  found  in  the 
mounds,  Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis  are  dis- 
posed to  think  that  lead  must  have  been  used 
to  a  certain  extent  by  the  North  American 
tribes :  the  metal  itself,  however,  has  not,  I 
believe,  yet  been  found. 

Copper,  on  the  other  hand,  both  wrought 
and  unwrought,  occurs  frequently  in  the 
tumuli.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the 
copper  arrow-  or  spear -heads  (fig.  1 77)  resemble 
the  American  type  of  stone  arrow-heads.  The 
axes  have  a  striking,  resemblance  to  those  simple 
European  forms,  which  contain  the  minimum 
quantity  of  tin,  and  as  in  them  the  socket, 
when  there  is  one,  is  made  by  flattening 
the  copper  .and  turning  over  the  edge  (fig.  copper  .\rrowhead. 
1 78) ;  and  some  of  the  Mexican  paintings  give  us  interesting 
evidence  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  handled  and 
used.  These,  however,  were  of  bronze,  and  had,  therefore, 
been  fused ;  but  the  Indian  axes,  which  are  of  pure  metallic 
copper,  appear  in  all  cases  to  have  been  worked  in  a  cold 
state,  which  is  remarkable,  because,  as  Messrs.  Squier  and 


254 


THE    USE    OF   COPPER. 


',^ 


I   ^) 


Davis  have  pointed  out^  "  the  fires  upon  the  altar  were  suf- 
ficiently intense  to  melt  down  the  copper  implements  and 
ornaments  deposited  upon  them.  The  hint  thus  afibrded 
Fig.  178.  does  not  scom to  have  been  seized  upon*. "  This 
is  th  e  more  surprising,  because,  as  Schoolcraft  f 
tells  us,  ^'in  almost  all  the  works  lately  opened, 
there  are  heaps  of  coals  and  ashes,  showing  that 
fire  had  much  to  do  with  their  operations."  Thus, 
though  they  were  acquainted  with  metal,  they  did 
not  know  how  to  use  it ;  and  as  Professor  Dana  has 
well  observed  in  a  letter  with  which  he  has  favoured 
me,  they  may  in  one  sense  be  said  to  have  been  in 
an  age  of  Stone,  since  they  used  the  copper,  not 
as  metal,  but  as  Stone.  This  intermediate  con- 
dition between  an  age  of  Stone  and  one  of  metal 
is  most  interesting. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Lake  Superior,  and  m 
some  other  still  more  northern  localities,  copper 
is  found  native  in  large  quantities,  and  the  In- 
dians had  therefore  nothing  to  do  but  to  break 
off  pieces  and  hammer  them  into  the  required 
shape.  Hearne's  celebrated  journey  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Coppermine  River,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Hudson^s  Bay  Company,  was  undertaken  in  order 
to  examine  the  locality  whence  the  natives  of  that 
district  obtained  the  metal.  In  this  case  it  oc- 
curred in  lumps  actually  on  the  surface,  and  the 
Indians  seem  to  have  picked  up  what  they  could, 
without  attempting  any  thing  that  could  be  called  mining. 
Round  Lake  Superior,  however,  the  case  is  very  different.  A 
short  account  of  the  ancient  copper-mines  is  given  by  Messrs. 


\.  \ 


Copper 
Spear- head. 


*  One  "cast"  copper  axe  is  re- 
corded as  having  been  found  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  but  there  is  no 


evidence  to  show  by  whom  it  was 
made. 

t  Indian  Tribes,  p.  97. 


ANCIENT   COPPER-MINES.  255 

Squier  aud  Davis  in  the  work  already  so  often  cited, 
by  Mr.  Squier  in  "  The  Aboriginal  Monuments  of  the  State 
of  New  York/'  by  Mr.  Lapham  *,  and  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  f, 
while  the  same  subject  is  treated  at  considerable  length  by 
Professor  Wilson.  The  works  appear  to  have  been  first 
discovered  in  1847  by  the  agent  of  the  Minnesota  Mining 
Co  tupany. 

"  Following  up  the  indications  of  a  continuous  depression 
in  the  soil,  he  came  at  lengtli  to  a  cavern  where  he  found 
several  porcupines  had  fixed  their  quarters  for  hybernation ; 
but  detecting  evidences  of  artificial  excavation,  he  proceeded 
to  clear  out  the  accumulated  soil,  and  not  only  exposed  to 
view  a  vein  of  copper,  but  found  in  the  rubbish  numerous 
stone  mauls  and  hammers  of  the  ancient  workmen.  Sub- 
sequent observations  brought  to  light  ancient  excavations  of 
great  extent,  fi'equently  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  deep, 
and  scattered  over  an  area  of  several  miles.  The  rubbish 
taken  from  these  is  piled  up  in  mounds  alongside ;  while  the 
trenches  have  been  gradually  refilled  with  the  soil  and  decay- 
ing vegetable  matter  gathered  through  the  long  centuries 
since  their  desertion ;  and  over  all,  the  giants  of  the  forest 
have  grown,  and  withered,  and  fallen  to  decay.  Mr.  Knapp, 
the  agent  of  the  Minnesota  Mining  Company,  counted  three 
hundred  and  ninety-five  annular  rings  on  a  hemlock-tree, 
which  grew  on  one  of  the  mounds  of  earth  thrown  out  of  an 
ancient  mine.  Mr.  Foster  also  notes  the  great  size  and  age 
of  a  pine  stump,  which  must  have  grown,  flourished,  and  died 
since  the  works  were  deserted;  and  Mr.  C.  Whittesley  not 
only  refers  to  living  trees  now  flourishing  in  the  gathered 
soil  of  the  abandoned  trenches,  upwards  of  three  hundred 
years  old,  but  adds,  '  On  the  same  spot  there  are  the  decayed 
trunks  of  a  preceding  generation  or  generations  of  trees  that 
have  arrived  at  maturity,  and  fallen  down  from  old  age.' 
*  1.  c.  p.  71.  t  1-  c.  p.  95. 


256  ANCIENT  COPPEE-MINES. 

Accordinor  to  the  same  writer,  in  a  communication  made  to 
the  American  Association,  at  the  Montreal  meeting  in  1857, 
these  ancient  works  extend  over  a  tract  from  100  to  150 
miles  in  length,  along  the  southern  shore  of  the  lake." 

In  another  excavation  was  found  a  detached  mass  of  native 
copper,  weighing  upwards  of  six  tons.  It  rested  on  an 
artificial  cradle  of  black  oak,  partly  preserved  by  immersion 
in  water.  Various  implements  and  tools  of  the  same  metal 
were  found  with  it.  The  commonest  of  these  are  the  stone 
mauls  or  hammers,  of  which  from  one  place  ten  cart-loads 
were  obtained.  With  these  were  "  stone  axes  of  large  size, 
made  of  greenstone,  and  shaped  to  receive  withe-handles. 
Some  large  round  greenstone  masses,  that  had  apparently 
been  used  for  sledges,  were  also  found.  They  had  round 
holes  bored  in  them  to  a  depth  of  several  inches,  which 
seemed  to  have  been  designed  for  wooden  plugs,  to  which 
withe-handles  might  be  attached,  so  that  several  men  could 
swing  them  with  sufficient  force  to  break  the  rock  and  the 
projecting  masses  of  copper.  Some  of  them  wei-e  broken, 
and  some  of  the  projecting  ends  of  rock  exhibited  marks  of 
having  been  battered  in  the  manner  here  suggested*." 

Wooden  implements  are  so  perishable  that  we  could  not 
expect  many  of  them  to  have  been  found.  Two  or  three 
wooden  bowls,  a  trough,  and  some  shovels  with  long  handles, 
are  all  that  appear  to  be  recorded. 

It  has  often  been  stated  that  the  Indians  possessed  some 
method,  at  present  unknown,  by  which  they  were  enabled  to 
harden  the  copper.  This,  however,  from  examinatious  insti- 
tuted by  Professor  Wilson,  seems  to  be  an  error.  Some 
copper  implements,  which  he  submitted  to  Professor  Crofts, 
were  found  to  be  no  harder  than  the  native  copper  from 
Lake  Superior.  "  The  structure  of  the  metal  was  also 
highly  laminated,  as  if  the  instrument  had  been  brought 
*  Prof.  "W.  W.  Mather  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Sqmer,  1.  c.  p.  184. 


POTTERY.  257 

to  its  present  shape  by  hammering  out  a  solid  mass  of 
copper." 

Before  the  introduction  of  metallic  vessels,  the  art  of  the 
potter  was  more  important  even  than  it  is  at  present.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  sites  of  all  ancient  habitations  are  generally 
marked  by  numerous  fragments  of  pottery  :  this  is  as  true 
of  the  ancient  Indian  settlement^  as  of  the  Celtic  towns  of 
England,  or  the  lake  villages  of  Switzerland.  These  frag- 
ments, however,  would  generally^ be  those  of  rude  household 
vessels,  and  it  is  principally  from  the  tumuli  that  we  obtain 
those  better-made  urns  and  cups  from  which  the  state  of  the 
art  may  fairly  bo  inferred.  Yet  very  few  indeed  of  the 
British  sepulchral  urns,  belonging  to  ante-Roman  times, 
have  upon  them  any  curved  lines.  Representations  of  ani- 
mals or  plants  are  also  almost  entirely  wanting.  They  are 
even  absent  from  all  articles  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Ago  in 
Switzerland,  and  I  might  almost  say  in  Western  Europe 
generally,  while  ornaments  -of  curved  and  spiral  lines  are 
eminently  characteristic  of  this  period.  The  ornamental 
ideas  of  the  Stone  Age,  on  the  other  hand,  are  confined,  so 
far  as  we  know,  to  compositions  of  straight  lines,  and  the 
idea  of  a  curve  scarcely  seems  to  have  occurred  to  them.  The 
most  elegant  ornaments  on  their  vases  are  impressions  made 
by  the  finger-nail,  or  by  a  cord  wound  round  the  soft  clay. 

Dr.  Wilson  has  well  pointed  out,  that,  as  regards  Europe, 
"  in  no  single  case  is  any  attempt  made  to  imitate  leaf  or 
flower,  bird,  beast,  or  any  simple  natural  object ;  and  when, 
in  the  bronze  work  of  the  later  Iron  period,  imitative  forms 
at  length  appear,  they  are  chiefly  the  snake  and  dragon 
shapes  and  patterns,  borrowed  seemingly  by  Celtic  and  Teu- 
tonic wanderers,  with  the  wild  fancies  of  their  mythology, 
from  the  far  Eastern  cradle-land  of  their  birth." 

Very  different  was  the  condition  of  American  Art.  "  The 
art  of  pottery  attained  to  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection." 

19 


258  OENAMENTS. 

Some  of  the  vases  found  in  the  tumuli  are  said  to  rivals  "  in 
elegance  of  models  delicacy_,  and  finish/^  the  best  Peruvian 
specimens.  The  material  used  is  a  fine  clay :  in  the  more 
delicate  specimens^  pure;  in  the  coarser  ones,  mixed  with 
pounded  quartz.  The  art  of  glazing  and  the  use  of  the 
potter^s  wheel  appear  not  to  have  been  known,  though  that 
"  simple  approximation  to  a  potter's  wheel  may  have  existed," 
which  consists  of  "  a  stick  of  wood  grasped  in  the  hand  by 
the  middle,  and  turned  round  inside  a  wall  of  clay  formed 
by  the  other  hand,  or  by  another  workman*." 

Among  the  most  characteristic  specimens  of  ancient  Ameri- 
can pottery  are  the  pipes.  Some  of  these  are  simple  bowls, 
smaller  indeed,  but  otherwise  not  unlike  a  common  every-day 
pipe,  from  which  they  differ,  however,  in  having  generally  no 
stem,  the  mouth  having  apparently  been  apphed  direct  to  the 
bowl.  Many  are  highly  ornamented,  others  are  spirited 
representations  of  monsters  or  of  animals,  such  as  the  beaver, 
otter,  wild  cat,  elk,  bear,  wolf,  panther,  raccoon,  opossum, 
squirrel,  manatee,  eagle,  hawk,  heron,  owl,  buzzard,  raven, 
swallow,  parroquet,  duck,  grouse,  and  many  others.  The 
most  interesting  of  these,  perhaps,  is  the  Manatee  or  Laman- 
tin,  of  which  seven  representations  have  been  found  in  the 
mounds  of  Ohio.  These  are  no  mere  rude  sculptures,  about 
which  there  might  easily  be  a  mistake,  but  "  the  truncated 
head,  thick  semicircular  snout,  peculiar  nostrils,  tumid,  fur- 
rowed upper  lip,  singular  feet  or  fins,  and  remarkable 
moustaches,  are  all  distinctly  marked,  and  render  the  recog- 
nition of  the  animal  complete  f."  This  curious  animal  is  not 
at  present  found  nearer  than  the  shores  of  Florida,  a  thousand 
miles  away. 

The  ornaments  which  have  been  found  in  the  mounds 
consist  of  beads,  shells,  necklaces,  pendants,  plates  of  mica, 
bracelets,  gorgets,  etc.  The  number  of  beads  is  sometimes 
*  Squier  and  Davis,  1.  c.  p.  195.  f  Squier  and  Davis,  1.  c.  p.  252. 


FORTIFICATIONS.  259 

quite  surprising.  Tlius  the  celebrated  Grave  Creek  mound 
contained  between  three  and  four  thousand  shell-beads, 
besides  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  ornaments  of  mica, 
several  bracelets  of  copper,  and  various  articles  carved  in 
stone.  The  beads  are  generally  made  of  shell,  but  are  some- 
times cut  out  of  bone  or  teeth;  in  form  they  are  generally 
round  or  oblong ;  sometimes  the  shell  of  the  Uuio  is  cut  and 
strung  so  as  to  ''  exhibit  the  convex  surface  and  peai-ly  nacre 
of  the  shell."  The  necklaces  are  often  made  of  beads  or 
shells,  but  sometimes  of  teeth.  The  ornaments  of  mica  are 
thin  plates  of  various  forms,  each  of  which  has  a  small  hole. 
The  bracelets  are  of  copper,  and  generally  encircle  the  arms 
of  the  skeletons,  besides  being  frequent  on  the  "  altars." 
They  are  simple  rings  ''  hammered  out  with  more  or  less  skill, 
and  so  bent  that  the  ends  approach,  or  lap  over,  each  other." 
The  so-called  "gorgets"  are  thin  plates  of  copper,  alwa^'s 
with  two  holes,  and  probably  therefore  worn  as  badges  of 
authoi'ity. 

The  earthworks  are  most  abundant  in  the  central  parts  of 
the  United  States.  They  decrease  in  number  as  wc  approach 
the  Atlantic,  and  are  very  scarce  in  British  America  and  on 
the  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  works  belonging  to  this  class  "  usually  occupy  strong 
natural  positions,"  and  as  a  fair  specimen  o#  them  wo  may 
take  the  Bourneville  Enclosure  in  Ross  County,  Ohio.  "  This 
work,"  say  Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis  (I.e.  p.  11),  "occupies 
the  summit  of  a  lofty  detached  hill,  twelve  miles  westward 
from  the  city  of  Chillicothe,  near  the  village  of  Bourneville. 
The  hill  is  not  far  from  four  hundred  feet  in  perpendicular 
height ;  and  is  remarkable,  even  among  the  steep  hills  of  the 
west,  for  the  general  abruptness  of  its  sides,  which  at  some 
points  are  absolutely  inaccessible The  defences  con- 
sist of  a  wall  of  stone,  which  is  carried  round  the  hill  a  little 
below  the  brow ;  but  at  some  places  it  rises,  so  as  to  cut  oflf 


260  EARTHWORKS. 

the  narrow  spurs^  and  extends  across  tlie  neck  tliat  connects 
the  hill  with  the  range  beyond."  It  must  not^  however,  be 
understood  that  any  thing  like  a  true  wall  now  exists ;  the 
present  appearance  is  rather  what  might  have  been  "  expected 
from  the  falling  outwards  of  a  wall  of  stones,  placed,  as  this 
was,  upon  the  declivity  of  a  hill."  Where  it  is  most  distinct 
it  is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  wide,  by  three  or  four  in 
height.  The  area  thus  enclosed  is  about  one  hundred  and" 
forty  acres,  and  the  wall  is  two  miles  and  a  quarter  in  length. 
The  stones  themselves  vary  much  in  size,  and  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis  suggest  that  the  wall  may  originally  have  been 
about  eight  feet  high,  with  an  equal  base.  At  present,  trees 
of  the  largest  size  are  growing  upon  it.  On  a  similar  work 
known  as  "Fort  Hill,"  Highland  County,  Ohio,  Messrs. 
Squier  and  Davis  found  a  splendid  chestnut  tree,  which  they 
suppose  to  be  six  hundred  years  old.  "  If,"  they  say,  "  to 
this  we  add  the  probable  period  intervening  from  the  time 
of  the  building  of  this  work  to  its  abandonment,  and  the 
subsequent  period  up  to  its  invasion  by  the  forest,  we  are 
led  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  it  has  an  antiquity 
of  at  least  one  thousand  years.  But  when  we  notice,  all 
around  us,  the  crumbling  trunks  of  trees,  half  hidden  in  the 
accumulating  soil,  we  are  induced  to  fix  on  an  antiquity  still 
more  remote.^* 

The  enclosure  known  as  "  Clark's  Work,"  in  Ross  County, 
Ohio,  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting.  It  consists 
of  a  parallelogram,  two  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  by 
eighteen  hundred,  and  enclosing  about  one  hundred  and 
eleven  acres.  To  the  right  of  this,  the  principal  work  is  a 
perfect  square,  containing  an  area  of  about  sixteen  acres. 
Each  side  is  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  in 
the  middle  of  each  is  a  gateway  thirty  feet  wide,  covered  by 
a  small  mound.  Within  the  area  of  the  great  work  are 
several  smaller  mounds  and  enclosures ;  and  it  is  estimated 


ENCLOSURES.  261 

that  not  less  than  three  millions  of  cubic  feet  of  earth  were 
used  in  this  great  undertaking.  Yet  from  the  peculiarly 
mottled  character  of  the  earth  forming  these  mounds,  it  would 
appear  to  have  been  brought  in  bags  or  small  parcels*.  It 
has  also  been  observed  that  water  is  almost  invariably  found 
within,  or  close  to  these  enclosures. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  is  not  a  single  case  in  which 
counter- works  occur  near  any  of  the  ancient  North  American 
fortifications.  Col.  Whittlesey  f  draws  from  this  fact  the 
conclusion  that  the  period  during  which  the  mound-builders 
turned  "  their  attention  to  military  affairs  was  probably  short, 
and,  when  their  preparations  were  made,  they  may  have  with- 
drawn farther  south  without  a  vigorous  defence."  I  should 
rather  infer  that  the  warfare  of  the  mound-builders,  like  that 
of  the  more  modern  Red  Indians,  consisted  not  of  persevering 
sieges,  but  of  sudden  attacks  and  surprises. 

If  the  purpose  for  which  the  works  belonging  to  the  first 
class  were  erected  is  very  evident,  the  same  cannot  be  said 
for  those  which  we  have  now  to  mention.  That  they  were 
not  intended  for  defence  is  inferred  by  Messrs.  Squier  and 
Davis  from  their  small  size,  from  the  ditch  being  inside  the 
embankment,  and  from  their  position,  which  is  often  com- 
pletely commanded  by  neighbouring  heights. 

Dr.  Wilson  also  (vol.  i.  p.  324)  follows  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  in 
considering  the  position  of  the  ditch  as  being  a  distinguish- 
ing mark  between  military  and  religious  works.  But  Catlin 
expressly  tells  us  that  in  a  Mandan  village,  which  he  describes, 
the  ditch  was  on  the  inner  side  of  the  embankment,  and  the 
warriors  were  thus  sheltered  while  they  shot  their  arrows 
through  the  stockade.  We  see,  therefore,  that  in  America 
at  least,  this  is  no  reliable  guide. 

While,  however,  the  defensive  earthworks  occupy  hill  tops, 

*  Whittlesey,   On  the  Weapons   and  Character  of  the   Mound-builders. 
Hem.  Boston  Soc.  of  Nat.  Hist.,  vol.  i.  pt.  iv.  p.  473.  f  ^-  c-  P-  479. 


262  SACRED    ENCLOSURES. 

and  otlier  situations  most  easy  to  defend^  the  so-called  sacred 
enclosures  are  generally  found  on  "  the  broad  and  level  river 
bottoms^  seldom  occurring  upon  the  table-lands  or  where  the 
surface  of  the  ground  is  undulating  or  broken."  They  are 
usually  square  or  circular  in  form ;  a  circular  enclosure  being 
often  combined  with  one  or  two  squares.  Occasionally  they 
are  isolated,  but  more  frequently  in  groups.  The  greater 
number  of  the  circles  are  of  small  size,  with  a  nearly  uniform 
diameter  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  feet, 
and  the  ditch  is  invariably  inside  the  wall.  Some  of  the 
circles,  however,  are  much  larger,  enclosing  fifty  acres  or 
more.  The  squares  or  other  rectangular  works  never  have  a 
ditch,  and  the  earth  of  which  they  are  composed  appears  to 
have  been  taken  up  evenly  from  the  surface,  or  from  large 
pits  in  the  neighbourhood.  They  vary  much  in  size ;  five  or 
six  of  them,  however,  are  "  exact  squares,  each  side  measur- 
ing one  thousand  and  eighty  feet — a  coincidence  which  could 
not  possibly  be  accidental,  and  which  must  possess  some 
significance."  The  circles  also,  in  spite  of  their  great  size, 
are  so  nearly  round,  that  the  American  archgeologists  con- 
sider themselves  justified  in  concluding  that  the  mound- 
builders  must  have  had  some  standard  of  measurement,  and 
some  means  of  determining  angles. 

The  most  remarkable  group  is  that  near  Newark,  in  the 
Scioto  Valley,  which  covers  an  area  of  four  square  miles !  A 
plan  of  these  gigantic  works  is  given  by  Messrs.  Squier  and 
Davis,  and  another,  from  a  later  survey,  by  Mr.  Wilson. 
They  consist  of  an  octagon,  with  an  area  of  fifty,  a  square 
occupying  twenty  acres,  and  two  large  circles  occupying 
respectively  thirty  and  twenty  acres.  From  the  octagon  an 
avenue  formed  by  parallel  walls  extends  southwards  for  two 
miles  and  a  half;  there  are  two  other  avenues  which  are 
rather  more  than  a  mile  in  length,  one  of  them  connecting 
the  octagon  with  the  square. 


EARTHWORKS    OP   THE    SCIOTO    VALLEY.  263 

Besides  these,  there  are  various  other  embankments  •  and 
small  circles,  the  greater  number  about  eighty  feet  in 
diameter,  but  some  few  much  larger.  The  walls  of  these 
small  circles,  as  well  as  those  of  the  avenues  and  of  the 
in'egular  portions  of  the  works  generally,  are  very  slight, 
and  for  the  most  part  about  four  feet  in  height.  The  other 
embankments  are  much  more  considerable ;  the  walls  of  the 
large  circle  are  even  now  twelve  feet  high,  with  a  base  of 
fifty  feet,  and  an  interior  ditch  seven  feet  deep  and  thirty- 
five  in  width.  At  the  gateway,  however,  they  are  still  more 
imposing;  the  wails  being  sixteen  feet  high,  and  the  ditch 
thirteen  feet  deep.  The  whole  area  is  covered  with  "gigantic 
trees  of  a  primitive  forest;"  and,  say  Messrs.  Squier  and 
Davis,  "in  entering  the  ancient  avenue  for  the  first  time, 
the  visitor  does  not  fail  to  experience  a  sensation  of  awe, 
such  as  he  might  feel  in  passing  the  portals  of  an  Egyptian 
temple,  or  gazing  upon  the  silent  ruins  of  Petra  of  the 
desert." 

The  city  of  Circleville  takes  its  name  from  one  of  these 
embankments,  which,  however,  is  no  more  remarkable  than 
many  others.  It  consists  of  a  square  and  a  circle,  touching 
one  another ;  the  sides  of  the  square  being  about  nine  hun- 
dred feet  in  length,  and  the  circle  a  little  more  than  a 
thousand  feet  in  diameter.  The  square  had  eight  doorways, 
one  at  each  angle,  and  one  in  the  middle  of  each  side,  every 
doorway  being  protected  by  a  mound.  The  circle  was  peculiar 
in  having  a  double  embankment.  This  work,  alas !  has  been 
entirely  destroyed ;  and  many  others  have  also  disappeared, 
or  are  being  gradually  obliterated  by  the  plough.  Under 
these  circumstances,  we  read  with  pleasure  that  "  The  Direc- 
tors of  the  Ohio  Land  Company,  when  they  took  possession 
of  the  country  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  Eiver,  in 
1788,  adopted  immediate  measures  for  the  preservation  of 
these  monuments.     To  their  credit  be  it  said,  one  of  their 


264  AZTALAN. 

earliest  oJBScial  acts  was  the  passage  of  a  resolution,  wliicli  is 
entered  upon  the  Journal  of  their  proceedings,  reserving  the 
two  truncated  pyramids  and  the  great  mound,  with  a  few 
acres  attached  to  each,  as  public  squares/^  Such  enlightened 
conduct  deserves  the  thanks  of  archseologists,  and  I  sincerely 
hope  that  the  Company  has  prospered. 

Both  as  being  the  only  example  of  an  enclosure  yet  ob- 
served in  Wisconsin,  and  also  as  having  in  many  respects  a 
great  resemblance  to  a  fortified  town,  the  ruins  of  Aztalan 
are  well  worthy  of  attention.  They  are  situated  on  the  west 
branch  of  Rock  River,  and  were  discovered  in  1836  by  N.  F. 
Hyer,  Esq.,  who  surveyed  them  hastily,  and  published  a 
brief  description,  with  a  figure,  in  the  "  Milwaukie  Adver- 
tiser.'' In  "  Silliman's  American  Journal,''  No.  XLIV.,  is  a 
paper  on  the  subject  by  Mr.  Taylor,  from  which  was  derived 
the  plan  and  the  short  account  given  by  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis*.  The  most  complete  description  is  contained  in 
Mr.  Lapham's  "Antiquities  of  Wisconsin t-*'  The  name 
"Aztalan"  was  given  to  this  place  by  Mr.  Hyer,  because  the 
Aztecs  had  a  tradition  that  they  originally  came  from  a 
country  to  the  north,  which  they  called  Aztalan.  It  is  said 
to  be  derived  from  two  Mexican  words,  Atl,  water,  and  An, 
near.  "  The  main  feature  of  these  works  is  an  enclosure  of 
earth  (not  brick,  as  has  been  erroneously  stated),  extending 
around  three  sides  of  an  irregular  parallelogram ;"  the  river 
"forming  the  fourth  side  on  the  east.  The  space  thus  en- 
closed contains  seventeen  acres  and  two-thirds.  The  corners 
are  not  rectangular,  and  the  embankment  or  ridge  is  not 
straight."  "  The  ridge  forming  the  enclosure  is  631  feet 
long  at  the  north  end,  1419  feet  long  on  the  wesf  side,  and 
700  feet  on  the  south  side ;  making  a  total  length  of  wall  of 
2750  feet.  The  ridge  or  wall  is  about  22  feet  wide,  and  from 
one  foot  to  five  in  height.  The  wall  of  earth  is  enlarged  on 
*  1.  c.  p.  131.  t  p.  41. 


VTTRIPIED    WALLS.  265 

the  outside,  at  nearly  regular  distances,  by  mounds  of  the 
same  material.  Tliey  are  called  buttresses,  or  bastions  ;  but 
it  is  quite  clear  that  they  were  never  intended  for  either " 
the  one  or  the  other.  They  vary  from  sixty-one  to  ninety- 
five  feet  apart,  the  mean  distance  being  eighty-two  feet. 
Near  the  south-west  angle  are  two  outworks,  constructed  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  main  embankment. 

In  many  places  the  earth  forming  the  walls  appears  to 
have  been  burnt.  "Irregular  masses  of  hard  reddish  clay, 
full  of  cavities,  bear  distinct  impressions  of  straw,  or  rather 
wild  hay,  with  which  they  had  been  mixed  before  burning." 
"  This  is  the  only  foundation  for  calling  these  '  brick  walls.' 
The  '  bricks '  were  never  made  into  any  regular  form,  and  it 
is  even  doubtful  whether  the  burning  did  not  take  place  in 
the  wall  after  it  was  built."  These  walls  must  therefore 
present  some  faint  resemblance  to  the  celebrated  vitrified  forts 
of  Scotland,  and  to  fortifications  of  a  similar  character  which 
have  recently  been  observed  in  France  and  Germany.  Some 
of  the  mounds  or  buttresses,  though  forming  part  of  an 
enclosure,  were  also  used  for  sepulchral  purposes,  as  was 
proved  by  their  containing  skeletons  in  a  sitting  posture, 
with  fragments  of  pottery.  The  highest  point  inside  the 
enclosure  is  at  the  south-west  corner,  and  is  "occupied 
by  a  square  truncated  mound,  which  ....  presents 
the  appearance  of  a  pyramid,  rising  by  successive  steps  like 
the  gigantic  structures  of  Mexico."  "At  the  north-west 
angle  of  the  enclosure  is  another  rectangular,  truncated, 
pyramidal  elevation,  of  sixty-five  feet  level  area  at  the  top, 
with  remains  of  its  graded  way,  or  sloping  ascent,  at  the 
south-west  corner,  leading  also  towards  a  ridge  that  extends 
in  the  direction  of  the  river." 

Within  the  enclosure  are  some  ridges  about  two  feet  high, 
and  connected  with  them  are  several  rings,  or  circles,  which 
are  supposed  to  be  the  remains  of  mud  houses.    "  Nearly  Iho 


266  MODEEN   EARTHWORKS. 

whole  interior  of  the  enclosure  appears  to  have  been  either 
excavated  or  thrown  up  into  mounds  and  ridges ;  the  pits 
and  irregular  excavations  being  quite  numerous  over  much 
of  the  space  not  occupied  by  mounds."  These  excavations 
and  ridges  are,  in  all  probability,  the  ruins  of  houses.  Some 
years  ago  a  skeleton  was  found  in  one  of  the  mounds,  wrapped 
apparently  in  cloth  of  open  texture,  "  like  the  coarsest  linen 
fabric  /^  but  the  threads  were  so  rotten  as  to  make  it  quite 
uncertain  of  what  material  they  were  made. 

The  last  Indian  occupants  of  this  interesting  locality  had  no 
tradition  as  to  the  history  or  the  purpose  of  these  earthworks. 

Among  the  Northern  tribes  of  existing  Indians  there  do 
not  appear  to  be  any  earthworks  corresponding  to  these  so- 
called  Sacred  Enclosures.  "  No  sooner,  however,  do  we  pass 
to  the  southward,  and  arrive  among  the  Creeks,  Natchez, 
and  afl&liated  Floridian  tribes,  than  we  discover  traces  of 
structures  which,  if  they  do  not  entirely  correspond  with  the 
regular  earthworks  of  the  West,  nevertheless  seem  to  be 
somewhat  analogous  to  them*."  These  tribes,  indeed,  appear 
to  have  been  more  civilized  than  those  of  the  North,  since 
they  were  agricultural  in  their  habits,  lived  in  considerable 
towns,  and  had  a  systematized  religion,  so  that,  in  fact,  they 
must  have  occupied  a  position  intermediate,  as  well  econo- 
mically as  geographically,  between  the  powerful  monarchies 
of  Central  America  and  the  hunting  tribes  of  the  North. 
The  "  structures  "  to  which  Mr.  Squier  alludes  are  described 
by  him,  both  in  his  "  Second  Memoir,"  and  also  in  the 
"Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley"  (p.  120). 
The  "  Chunk  Yards,"  now  or  lately  in  use  among  the  Creeks, 
and  which  have  only  recently  been  abandoned  among  the 
Cherokees,  are  rectangular  areas,  generally  occupying  the 
centre  of  the  town,  closed  at  the  sides,  but  with  an  opening 
ateach  end.  They  are  sometimes  from  six  to  nine  hundred 
*  Squier,  1.  c.  p.  136. 


CHUNK   YARDS.  267 

feet  in  length,  being  largest  in  the  older  towns.  The  area  is 
levelled  and  slightly  sunk,  being  surrounded  by  a  low  bank 
formed  of  the  earth  thus  obtained.  In  the  centre  is  a  low 
mound,  on  which  stands  the  Chunk  Pole,  to  the  top  of  which 
is  some  object  which  serves  as  a  mark  to  shoot  at.  Near  each 
corner  at  one  end,  is  a  small  pole,  about  twelve  feet  high ; 
these  are  called  the  "  slave  posts,''  because  in  the  "  good  old 
times,"  captives  condemned  to  the  torture  were  fastened  to 
them.  The  name  "  Chunk  Yard  "  seems  to  be  derived  from 
an  Indian  game  called  "  Chunke,''  which  was  played  in  them. 
At  one  end  of,  and  just  outside,  this  area  stands  generally 
a  circular  eminence,  with  a  flat  top,  upon  which  is  elevated 
the  Great  Council  House.  At  the  other  end  is  a  flat-topped, 
square  eminence,  about  as  high  as  the  circular  one  just  men- 
tioned; '^upon  this  stands  the  public  square." 

These,  and  other  accounts  given  by  early  travellers  among 
the  Indians,  certainly  throw  much  light  on  the  circular  and 
square  enclosures ;  some  of  which,  though  classed  by  Messrs. 
Squier  and  Davis  under  this  head,  seem  to  me  to  be  the 
slight  fortifications  which  surrounded  villages,  and  were  un- 
doubtedly crowned  by  stockades.  We  have  already  seen  that 
the  position  of  the  ditch  is  in  reality  no  argument  against 
this  view ;  nor  does  the  position  of  the  works  seem  conclu- 
sive, if  we  suppose  that  they  were  intended  less  to  stand  a 
regular  siege  than  to  guard  against  a  sudden  attack. 

The  Sepulchral  mounds  are  very  numerous  in  the  central 
parts  of  the  United  States.  "  To  say  that  they  are  innumer- 
able in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  would  be  no  exag- 
geration. They  may  literally  be  numbered  by  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands."  They  vary  from  six  to  eight  feet  in 
height ;  generally  stand  outside  the  enclosures ;  are  often 
isolated,  but  often  also  in  groups;  they  are  usually  round, 
but  sometimes  elliptical  or  pear-shaped.  They  cover  gene- 
rally a  single  skeleton,  which,  however,  is  often  burnt.     Oc- 


268  SEPULCHRAL    MOUNDS. 

casionally  there  is  a  stone  cist,  but  urn  burial  also  prevailed 
to  a  considerable  extent,  especially  in  tbe  Southern  States. 
The  corpse  was  generally  buried  in  a  contracted  position. 
Implements  both  of  stone  and  metal  occur  frequently ;  but 
while  personal  ornaments,  such  as  bracelets,  perforated  plates 
of  copper,  beads  of  bone,  shell  or  metal,  and  similar  objects, 
are  very  common,  weapons  are  but  rarely  found  ;  a  fact 
which,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Wilson,  "indicates  a  totally 
different  condition  of  society  and  mode  of  thought"  from 
those  of  the  present  Indian. 

Certain  small  tumuli  found  in  America  have  been  regarded 
as  the  remains  of  mud  huts.  Mr.  Dille*  has  examined  and 
described  some  small  tumuli  observed  by  him  in  Missouri. 
He  dug  into  several,  but  never  succeeded  in  finding  any  thing 
except  coal,  char,  and  a  few  pieces  of  pottery,  whence  he 
concluded  that  they  were  the  remains  of  mud  houses  f.  The 
Mandans,  Minatarees,  and  some  other  tribes,  even  until  quite 
lately,  built  their  huts  of  earth,  resting  on  a  framework  of 
wood. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  tumuli  to  which  it 
would  seem  that  this  explanation  is  quite  inapplicable,  and 
which  are  full  of  human  remains.  This  was  long  supposed 
to  be  the  case  with  the  great  Grave  Creek  Mound,  which 
indeed  was  positively  stated  by  Atwater  J,  to  be  full  of  human 
remains.  This  has  turned  out  to  be  an  error,  but  the  state- 
ment is  not  the  less  true  as  regards  other  mounds.  In 
conjunction  with  them  may  be  mentioned  the  "  bone  pits," 
many  of  which  are  described  by  Mr.  Squier  §.  "  One  of 
these  pits,  discovered  some  years  ago  in  the  town  of  Cam- 
bria, Niagara  County,  was  estimated  to  contain  the  bones  of 
several  thousand  individuals.    Another  which  I  visited  in  the 

*  Smithsonian  Contributions,  vol.  %  See  also  Lapham,  1.  c.  p.  80. 

i.  p.  136.  §  1-  c.  pp.  25.  56,   57.  68.  71.  73. 

t  Archaeologia  Americana,  vol.  i.  106,  107.     Squier  and  Davis,  1.  c.  p. 

p.  223.  118,  etc. 


OSSUARIES.  269 

town  of  Clarence,  Erie  County,  contained  not  less  than  four 
hundred  skeletons/'  A  tumulus  described  by  Mr.  Jefferson 
in  his  "  Notes  on  Virginia/'  was  estimated  to  contain  the 
skeletons  of  a  thousand  individuals,  but  in  tliis  case  the 
number  was  perhaps  exaggerated. 

The  description  given  by  various  old  writers  of  the  solemn 
''  Festival  of  the  Dead "  satisfactorily  explains  these  large 
coUcctions  of  bones.  It  seems  that  every  eight  or  ten  years 
the  Indians  used  to  meet  at  some  place  previously  chosen, 
that  they  dug  up  their  dead,  collected  the  bones  together, 
and  laid  them  in  one  common  burial  place,  depositing  with 
them  fine  skins  and  other  valuable  articles.  Several  of  these 
ossuaries  are  described  by  Schoolcraft*. 

The  so-called  "  Sacrificial  Mounds,"  are,  says  Dr.  Wilson, 
"a  class  of  ancient  monuments,  altogether  peculiar  to  the 
New  World,  and  highly  illustrative  of  the  rites  and  cus- 
toms of  the  ancient  races  of  the  mounds.  This  remarkable 
class  of  mound  has  been  very  carefully  explored,  and  their 
most  noticeable  characteristics  are,  their  almost  invariable 
occurrence  within  enclosures;  their  regular  construction 
in  uniform  layers  of  gravel,  earth,  and  sand,  disposed 
alternately  in  strata  conformable  to  the  shape  of  the  mound ; 
and  their  covering,  a  symmetrical  altar  of  burnt  clay  or 
stone,  on  which  are  deposited  numerous  relics,  in  all  in- 
stances exhibiting  traces,  more  or  less  abundant,  of  their 
having  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  fire."  The  so'-called 
"  altar  "  is  a  basin,  or  table  of  burnt  clay,  carefully  moulded 
into  a  symmetrical  form,  but  varying  much  both  in  shape 
and  size.  Some  are  round,  some  elliptical,  and  others 
squares  or  parallelograms,  while  in  size  they  vary  f»om  two 
feet  to  fifty  feet  by  twelve  or  fifteen.  The  usual  dimensions, 
however,  are  from  .five  to  eight  feet.  They  are  almost 
always  found  within  sacred  enclosures.    Of  the  whole  number 

*  1.  c.  p.  102. 


270  SO-CALLED    SACRIFICL4.L   MOUNDS. 

examined  by  Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis  there  were  only  four 
which  were  exterior  to  the  walls  of  enclosures,  and  these 
were  but  a  few  rods  distant  from  them. 

The  ^"^  altar  ^^  is  always  on  a  level  with  the  natural  soil, 
and  bears  traces  of  long  continued  heat;  in  one  instance, 
where  it  appears  to  have  been  formed  of  sand,  instead  of 
clay,  the  sand  for  a  depth  of  two  inches  is  discoloured,  as  if 
fatty  matter  of  some  sort  had  been  burnt  on  it.  In  this  case 
a  second  deposit  of  sand  had  been  placed  on  the  first,  and 
upon  this  stones  a  little  larger  than  a  hen^s  egg  were 
arranged,  so  as  to  form  a  pavement,  which  strongly  reminds 
us  of  the  ancient  hearths  in  the  Danish  Kjokkenmoddings. 

In  a  few  instances  traces  of  timber  were  found  above  the 
altar.  Thus  in  one  of  the  twenty-six  tumuli  forming  the 
"  Mound  City  "  on  the  Scioto  Eiver  were  a  number  of  pieces 
of  timber,  four  or  five  feet  long,  and  six  or  eight  inches 
thick.  "  These  pieces  had  been  of  nearly  uniform  length ; 
and  this  circumstance,  joined  to  the  position  in  which  they 
occurred  in  respect  to  each  other  and  to  the*  altar,  would 
almost  justify  the  inference  that  they  had  supported  some 
funeral  or  sacrificial  pile*.^^  The  contents  of  these  mounds 
vary  very  much.  The  one  just  mentioned  contained  a 
quantity  of  pottery  and  many  implements  of  stone  and 
copper,  all  of  which  had  been  subjected  to  a  strong  heat. 
The  pottery  may  have  formed  a  dozen  vessels  of  moderate 
size.  'The  copper  articles  consisted  of  two  chisels,  and  about 
twenty  thin  strips.  About  fifty  or  a  hundred  stone  arrow- 
heads, some  flakes,  and  two  carved  pipes,  completed  the  list 
of  articles  found  in  this  interesting  tumulus.  In  another 
mound'  nearly  two  hundred  |)ipes  were  buried.  Generally 
speaking,  the  deposit  is  homogeneous :  ''  that  is  to  say, 
instead  of  finding  a  large  variety  of  relics,  ornaments, 
weapons,  and  other  articles,  such  as  go  to  make  up  the  pos- 

*  Squier  and  Davis,  1.  c.  p.  151. 


I 


SO-CALLED   SACRIFICL^  MOUNDS.  271 

sessions  of  a  barbarian  dignitary,  we  find  upon  one  altar  pipes 
only,  upon  another  a  single  mass  of  galena,  while  the  next 
one  has  a  quantity  of  pottery,  or  a  collection  of  spear-heads, 
or  else  is  destitute  of  remains,  except  perhaps  a  thin  layer  of 
carbonaceous  material.  Such  could  not  possibly  be  the  case 
upon  the  above  hypothesis,  for  the  spear,  the  arrows,  the  pipe, 
and  the  other  implements,  and  personal  ornaments  of  the 
dead,  would  then  be  found  in  connexion  with  each  other*." 

This  conclusion  does  not  seem  altogether  satisfactory ; 
and,  although  these  altar- containing  mounds  differ  in  so 
many  respects  from  the  above-described  tumuli,  I  still  feel 
disposed  to  regard  them  as  sepulchral  rather  than  sacrificial. 
Not  having,  however,  had  the  advantage  of  examining  them 
for  myself,  I  throw  this  out  as  a  suggestion,  rather  than 
express  it  as  an  opinion.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  why 
"  altars "  should  be  covered  up  in  this  manner ;  I  can  call 
to  mind  no  analogous  case.  On  the  other  hand,  if  Professor 
Nilsson's  suggestion  with  reference  to  ancient  tumuli  be 
correct,  the  long  continued  fire  will  offer  no  difficulty. 
Among  the  Buraets,  for  instance,  the  hearth  is  made  of 
beaten  earth,  on  which  a  good  fire  is  kept  blazing  at  all 
times  t-  Such  a  house,  if  used  finally  as  a  sepulchre,  would 
present  an  altar  very  much  like  those  above  described;  while 
the  wooden  constructions  and  the  burnt  bones  will  all  be 
explicable  on  the  h}qio thesis  that  we  have  before  us  a 
sepulchre,  rather  than  a  temple. 

Nor  does  the  "  homogencousness  "  of  the  deposits  found  m 
these  mounds  appear  so  decisive  to  me  as  to  Messrs.  Squier 
and  Davis.  Take,  for  instance,  the  cases  in  which  pipes  are 
found.  The  execution  of  these  is  so  good  that  "pipe-carving" 
was  no  doubt  a  profession ;  the  division  of  labour  must  have 
already  begun.  Exactly  the  same  feeling  which  induces 
many  savage  races  to  bury  weapons  with  the  dead  hunter, 
*  Squier  and  Davis,  p.  160.  t  Ernan,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  108. 


272  GRAVE   CREEK   MOUND. 

in  order  tliat  he  may  supply  himself  with  food  in  Hades  as 
on  earth;  that  feeling,  which  among  some  ancient  nations 
suggested  the  placing  of  money  in  the  grave,  would  account 
not  only  for  the  presence  of  these  pipes,  but  also  for  their 
number.  The  hunter  could  use  but  few  weapons,  and  must 
depend  for  success  mainly  on  his  strength  and  skill;  whereas 
the  pipe-seller,  if  he  could  dispose  of  a  pipe  at  all  in  the 
grave,  might  render  his  whole  stock-in-trade  available. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  great  number  of  objects 
found  in  the  Grave  Creek  Mound,  which  was  undoubtedly 
sepulchral,  and  in  which  one  of  the  skeletons  was  accom- 
panied by  seventeen  hundred  bone  beads,  five  hundred  sea- 
shells,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  pieces  of  mica,  besides 
other  objects.  Many  flakes,  arrow-heads,  etc.,  have  been  at 
times  found  in  tumuli,  so  that  the  mere  number  of  objects 
seems  no  argument  against  the  sepulchral  nature  of  these 
so-called  "  sacrificial  mounds." 

If,  therefore,  "  the  accumulated  carbonaceous  matter,  like 
that  formed  by  the  ashes  of  leaves  or  grass,"  which  suggests 
to  Professor  Wilson  "  the  graceful  offerings  of  the  first-fruits 
of  the  earth,  so  consonant  to  the  milder  forms  of  ancient 
sacrifice  instituted  in  recognition  of  the  Lord  of  the  Harvest/' 
seems  to  me  only  the  framework  of  the  house,  or  the  material 
of  the  funeral  pyre;  on  the  other  hand,  I  avoid  the  con- 
clusion to  which  he  is  driven,  that  on  ^^the  altars  of  the 
mound-builders,  human  sacrifices  were  made;  and  that 
within  their  sacred  enclosures  were  practised  rites  not  less 
hideous  than  those  which  characterized  the  worship  which 
the  ferocious  Aztecs  are  afiirmed  to  have  regarded  as  most 
acceptable  to  their  sanguinary  gods." 

Another  class. of  mounds,  called  by  Messrs.  Squier  and 
Davis  "  Temple  Mounds,"  "  are  pyramidal  structures,  trun- 
cated, and  generally  having  graded  avenues  to  their  tops. 
In   some   instances  they   are   terraced,  or  have   successive 


I 


TEMPLE   MOUNDS.  273 

stages.  But  whatever  their  form,  whether  round,  oval, 
octangular,  square,  or  oblong,  they  have  invariably  flat  or 
level  tops,  of  greater  or  lesser  area."  These  mounds  much 
resemble  the  Teocallis  of  Mexico,  and  had  probably  a  similar 
origin.  They  are  rare  in  the  North,  though  examples  occur 
even  as  far  as  Lake  Superior,  but  become  more  and  more 
numerous  as  we  pass  down  the  Mississippi,  and  especially  on 
approaching  the  Gulf,  where  they  constitute  the  most  nume- 
rous and  important  portion  of  the  ancient  remains.  Some 
of  the  largest,  however,  are  situated  in  the  North.  One  of 
the  most  remarkable  is  at  Cahokia,  in  Illinois.  This  gigantic 
mound  is  stated  to  be  seven  hundred  feet  long.  Jive  hundred 
feet  wide  at  the  base,  and  ninety  feet  in  height.  Its  solid 
contents  have  been  roughly  estimated  at  twenty  millions  of 
cubic  feet. 

Probably,  however,  these  mounds  were  not  used  as  tem- 
ples only,  but  also  as  sites  for  dwellings,  especially  for 
those  of  the  chiefs.  We  are  told  that  among  the  Natchez 
Indians  "  the  temples  and  the  dwellings  of  the  chiefs  were 
raised  upon  mounds,  and  for  every  new  chief  a  new  mound 
and  dwelling  were  constructed."  Again,  Garcilasso  de  la 
Vega,  in  his  history  of  Florida,  quoted  by  Mr.  Haven*, 
says,  ''  The  town  and  house  of  the  Cacique  of  Osachile  are 
similar  to  those  of  all  other  caciques  in  Florida,  and,  there- 
fore, it  seems  best  to  give  one  description  that  will  apply 
generally  to  all  the  capitals,  and  all  the  houses  of  the  chiefs 
in  Florida.  I  say,  then,  that  the  Indians  endeavour  to  place 
their  towns  upon  elevated  places;  but  because  such  situa- 
tions are  rare  in  Florida,  or  that  they  find  a  difficulty 
in  procuring  suitable  materials  for  building,  they  raise 
eminences  in  this  manner.  They  choose  a  place,  to  which 
they  bring  a  quantity  of  earth,  which  they  elevate  into  a  kind 
of  platform  two  or  three  pikes  in  height  (from  eighteen  to 

*  1.  c.  p.  57. 
20 


274  ANIMAL  MOUNDS.  * 

twenty-five  feet),  of  wKich  the  flat  top  is  capable  of  holding 
ten  or  twelve,  fifteen  or  twenty  houses,  to  lodge  the  cacique, 
his  family,  and  suite*." 

Not  the  least  remarkable  of  the  American  antiquities  are 
the  Animal  Mounds,  which  are  principally,  though  not  ex- 
clusively, found  in  Wisconsin.  In  this  district  "'thousands 
of  examples  occur  of  gigantic  basso-relievos  of  men,  beasts, 
birds,  and  reptiles,  all  wrought  with  persevering  labour  on 
the  surface  of  the  soil,''  while  enclosures  and  works  of  de- 
fence are  almost  entirely  wanting,  the  "ancient  city  of 
Aztalan''  being,  as  is  supposed,  the  only  example  of  the 
former  class. 

The  "Animal  Mounds"  were  discovered  by  Mr.  Lapham 
in  1836,  and  described  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  but  the 
first  account  of  them  in  any  scientific  journal  was  that  by 
Mr.  R.  C.  Taylor,  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and 
Art,  for  April,  1838.  In  1843  a  longer  memoir,  by  Mr.  S. 
Taylor,  appeared  in  the  same  journal.  Professor  J.  Locke 
gave  some  account  of  them  in  a  "  Report  on  the  Mineral 
Lands  of  the  United  States,"  presented  to  Congress  in  1840. 
Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis  devoted  to  the  same  subject  a  part 
of  their  work  on  the  "Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley ; "  and,  finally,  the  seventh  volume  of  the  Smithsonian 
Contributions  contains  the  work,  by  Mr.  Lapham,  which 
gives  the  most  complete  account  of  these  interesting  remains. 

IMr.  Lapham  adds  a  map,  showing  the  distribution  of 
these  curious  earthworks.  They  appear  to  be  most  numerous 
in  the  southern  counties  of  Wisconsin ;  and  extend  from  the 
Mississippi  to  Lake  IMichigan,  following  generally  the  course 
of  the  river,  and  being  especially  numerous  along  the  great 
Indian  trail,  or  war-path,  from  Lake  Michigan,  near  Mil- 
waukie,  to  the  Mississippi,  above  the  Prairie  du  Chien.  This, 
however,  does  not  prove  any  connexion  between  the  present 
*  See  also  Schoolcraft,  1.  c.  vol.  iii.  p.  47. 


ANIMAL   MOUNDS.  275 

Indians  and  the  mounds;  the  same  line  has  been  adopted  as 
the  route  of  the  United  States^  military  road,  and  may  have 
been  in  use  for  an  indefinite  period. 

The  mounds  themselves  not  only  represent  animals,  such 
as  men,  buffaloes,  elks,  bears,  otters,  wolves,  raccoons,  birds, 
serpents,  lizards,  turtles,  and  frogs,  but  also  some  inanimate 
objects,  if  at  least  the  American  archteologists  are  right  in 
regarding  some  of  them  as  crosses,  tobacco-pipes,  etc. 
.  Many  of  the  representations  are  spirited  and  correct,  but 
others,  probably  through  the  action  of  time,  arc  less  definite; 
one,  for  instance,  near  the  village  of  Muscoda,  may  be  either 
"a,  bird,  a  bow  and  arrow,  or  the  human  figure."  Their 
height  varies  from  one  to  four  feet,  sometimes,  however,  rising 
to  six  feet,  and  as  a  "  regular  elevation  of  six  inches  can  be 
readily  traced  upon  the  level  prairies"  of  the  West,  their 
outlines  are  generally  distinctly  defined  where  they  occupy 
favourable  positions.  It  seems  probable  that  many  of  the 
details  have  disappeared  under  the  action  of  rain  and  vege- 
tation. At  present  a  "  man  "  consists  generally  of  a  head 
and  body,  two  long  arms,  and  two  short  legs,  no  other  details 
being  visible.  The  "birds"  differ  from  the  "men"  principally 
in  the  absence  of  legs.  The  so-called  "lizards,"  which  are 
among  the  most  common  forms,  have  a  head,  two  legs,  and  a 
long  tail ;  the  side  view  being  represented,  as  is,  indeed,  the 
case  with  most  of  the  quadrupeds. 

One  remarkable  group  in  Dale  County,  close  to  the  Great 
Indian  War-path,  consists  of  a  man  with  extended  arms, 
seven  more  or  less  elongated  mounds,  one  tumulus  and  six 
quadrupeds.  The  length  of  the  human  figure  is  one  hundred 
and  twenty- five  feet,  and  it  is  one  hundred  and  forty  feet 
from  the  extremity  of  one  arm  to  that  of  the  other.  ITie 
quadrupeds  vary  from  ninety  to  a  hundred  and  twenty-six 
feet  in  length. 

At  Waukesha  are  a  number  of  mounds,  tumuli,  and  animals, 


276  ANIMAL    MOUNDS. 

iucluding  several  "  lizards,"  a  very  fine  "  bird,"  and  a  mag- 
nificent "tiirtle."  "This,  when  first  observed,  was  a  very- 
fine  specimen  of  the  art  of  mound-building,  with  its  graceful 
curves,  the  feet  projecting  back  and  forward,  and  the  tail, 
with  its  gradual  slope,  so  acutely  pointed,  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  ascertain  precisely  where  it  terminated.  The 
body  was  fifty-six  feet  in  length,  and  the  tail  two  hundred 
and  fifty;  the  height  six  feet."  This  group  of  mounds  is 
now,  alas,  covered  with  buildings  :  '^A  dwelling-house  stands 
on  the  body  of  the  turtle,  and  a  Catholic  chm'ch  is  built 
upon  the  tail." 

"But,"  says  Mr.  Lapham,  "the  most  remarkable  collection 
of  lizards  and  turtles  yet  discovered  is  on  the  school  section, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  south-east  from  the  village  of  Pew- 
aukee.  This  consists  of  seven  turtles,  two  lizards,  four  ob- 
long mounds,  and  one  of  the  remarkable  excavations  before 
alluded  to.  One  of  the  turtle  mounds,  partially  obliterated 
by  the  road,  has  a  length  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
being  nearly  double  the  usual  dimensions.  Three  of  them 
are  remarkable  for  their  curved  tails,  a  feature  here  first 
observed." 

In  several  places  a  very  curious  variation  occurs.  The 
animals,  with  the  usual  form  and  size,  are  represented,  not  in 
relief,  but  intaglio ;  not  by  a  mound,  but  by  an  excavation. 

The  few  "Animal  Mounds"  which  have  been  observed  out 
of  Wisconsin  differ  in  many  respects  from  the  ordinary  type. 
Near  Granville,  in  Ohio,  on  a  high  spur  of  land,  is  an  earth- 
work, known  in  the  neighbourhood  as  the  "Alligator."  It 
has  a  head  and  body,  four  sprawling  legs,  and  a  curled  tail. 
The  total  length  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet ;  the  breadth 
of  the  body  forty  feet,  and  the  length  of  the  legs  thirty-six 
feet.  "  The  head,  shoulders,  and  rump  are  more  elevated 
than  the  other  parts  of  the  body,  an  attempt  having  evidently 
been  made  to  preserve  the  proportions  of  the  object  copied." 


ANIMAL   MOUNDS.  277 

The  average  height  is  four  feet,  at  the  shoulders  six.  Even 
more  remarkable  is  the  great  serpent  in  Adams  County, 
Ohio.  It  is  situated  on  a  high  spur  of  land,  which  rises  a 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  Brush  Creek.  "  Conforming  to 
the  curve  of  the  hill,  and  occupying  its  very  summit,  is  the 
serpent,  its  head  resting  near  the  point,  and  its  body  winding 
back  for  seven  hundred  feet,  in  graceful  undulations,  termi- 
nating in  a  triple  coil  at  the  tail.  The  entire  length,  if 
extended,  would  be  not  less  than  one  thousand  feet.  The 
accompanying  plan,  laid  down  from  accurate  survey,  can 
alone  give  an  adequate  conception  of  the  outline  of  the  work, 
which  is  clearly  and  boldly  defined,  the  embankment  being 
upwards  of  five  feet  in  height,  by  thirty  feet  base  at  the 
centre  of  the  body,  but  diminishing  somewhat  toward  the 
head  and  tail.  The  neck  of  the  serpent  is  stretched  out,  and 
slightly  curved,  and  its  mouth  is  opened  wide,  as  if  in  the  act 
of  swallowing  or  ejecting  an  oval  figure,  which  rests  partially 
within  the  distended  jaws.  This  oval  is  formed  by  an  em- 
bankment of  earth,  without  any  perceptible  oJDening,  four 
feet  in  height,  and  is  perfectly  regular  in  outline,  its  trans- 
verse and  conjugate  diameters  being  one  hundred  and  sixty, 
and  eighty  feet  respectively." 

When,  why,  or  by  whom  these  remarkable  works  were 
erected,  as  yet  we  know  not.  The  present  Indians,  though 
they  look  upon  them  with  reverence,  can  throw  no  light 
upon  their  origin.  Nor  do  the  contents  of  the  mounds 
themselves  assist  us  in  this  inquiry.  Several  of  them  have 
been  opened,  and,  in  making  the  streets  of  Milwaukic,  many 
of  the  mounds  have  been  entirely  removed;  but  the  only 
result  has  been  to  show  that  they  are  not  sepulchral,  and 
that,  excepting  by  accident,  they  contain  no  implements  or 
ornamonts. 

Under  these  circumstances  speculation  would  be  useless; 
we  can  but  wait,  and  hope  that  time  and  perseverance  may 


278  EOCK   CARVINGS. 

solve  the  problem,  and  explain  the  nature  of  these  remark- 
able and  mysterious  monuments. 

There  is  one  class  of  objects  which  I  have  not  yet  men- 
tioned, and  which  yet  ought  not  to  be  left  entirely  un- 
noticed. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  is  the  celebrated  Dighton 
Rock,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Taunton  River.  Its  history, 
and  the  various  conclusions  which  have  been  derived  from  it, 
are  very  amusingly  given  by  Dr.  Wilson*.  In  1783,  the 
Rev.  Ezra  Stiles,  D.D.,  President  of  Yale  College,  when 
preaching  before  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Connecticut, 
appealed  to  this  rock,  inscribed,  as  he  believed,  with  Phoeni- 
cian characters,  for  a  proof  that  the  Indians  were  descended 
from  Canaan,  and  were  therefore  accursed.  Count  de  Gebelin 
regarded  the  inscription  as  Carthaginian.  In  the  eighth 
volume  of  the  ''^Archeeologia,"  Colonel  Vallency  endeavours 
to  prove  that  it  is  Siberian ;  while  certain  Danish  antiquaries 
regard  it  as  Runic,  and  thought  that  they  could  read  the 
name  "  Thorfinn,"  "  with  an  exact,  though  by  no  means  so 
manifest,  enumeration  of  the  associates  who,  according  to  the 
Saga,  accompanied  Karlsefne's  expedition  to  Yinland,  in 
A.D.  1007."  Finally,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  submitted  a  copy  of  it 
to  Chingwauk,  an  intelHgent  Indian  chief,  who  "  interpreted 
it  as  the  record  of  an  Indian  triumph  over  some  rival  native 
tribe,''  but  without  offering  any  opinion  as  to  its  antiquity. 

In  the  "  Grave  Creek  Mound ''  was  found  a  small  oval 
disk  of  white  sandstone,  on  which  were  engraved  twenty-two 
letters.  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  who  has  especially  studied  this  relic, 
finally  concludes,  after  corresponding  with  many  American 
and  European  Archaeologists,  according  to  Dr.  Wilson  f,  that 
of  these  twenty -two  letters,  four  corresponded  "  with  ancient 
Greek,  four  with  the  Etruscan,  five  with  the  old  Northern 
Runes,  six  with  the  ancient  Gaelic,  seven  with  the  old  Erse, 
*  Pre-historic  Man,  vol.  ii,  p.  172.  f  Ibid.  p.  180. 


WAMPUM.  279 

ten  with  the  Phoenician,  fourteen  with  the  Anglo-Saxon,  and 
sixteen  with  the  Celtibericj  besides  which  possibly  equiva- 
lents may  be  found  in  the  old  Hebrew.  It  thus  appears  that 
this  ingenious  little  stone  is  even  more  accommodating  than 
the  Dighton  Rock,  in  adapting  itself  to  all  conceivable 
theories  of  ante-Columbian  colonization."  A  stone  of  such 
doubtful  character  could  prove  little  under  any  circumstances; 
but  it  must  also  be  mentioned  that  "  Dr.  James  W.  Clemens 
communicated  to  Dr.  Morton  all  the  details  of  the  exploration 
of  the  Grave  Creek  Mound ;  .  .  .  .  without  any  refer- 
ence to  the  discovery  of  the  inscribed  stone.  Nor  was  it  till 
the  excavated  vault  had  been  fitted  up  by  its  proprietor  for 
exhibition,  to  all  who  cared  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  admis- 
sion, that  the  marvellous  inscription  opportunely  came  to 
light,  to  add  to  the  attractions  of  the  show." 

One  or  two  other  equally  doubtful  cases  are  upon  record, 
but  upon  the  whole  we  may  safely  assert  that  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  nations  of  America  had  developed 
for  themselves  any  thmg  corresponding  to  an  alphabet.  The 
art  of  picture-writing,  which  they  shared  with  the  Aztecs  and 
the  Quipa  of  the  Peruvians,  was  supplemented  among  the 
North  American  Indians  by  the  "wampum."  This  curious 
substitute  for  writing  consisted  of  variously-coloured  beads, 
generally  worked  upon  leather.  One  very  interesting  example 
is  the  belt  of  wampum  "  delivered  by  the  Lenni  Lenape 
Sachems  to  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  Great  Treaty, 
under  the  elm-tree  at  Shachamox  in  1682."  It  is  still. pre- 
served in  the  collection  of  the  Historical  Society  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  consists  of  "eighteen  strings  of  wampum  formed 
of  white  and  violet  beads  worked  upon  leather  thongs,"  the 
whole  forming  a  belt  twenty-eight  inches  long,  and  two-and- 
a-half  broad.  "  On  this  five  patterns  are  worked  in  violet 
l)eads  on  a  white  ground,  and  in  the  centre  Penn  is  repre- 
sented taking  the  hand  of  the  Indian  Sachem.".  The  numerous 


280  THE  MOUND-BUILDEES. 

beads  found  in  somfe  of  the  tumuli  were  perhaps  in  a  similar 
manner  intended  to  commemorate  the  actions  and  virtues  of 
the  dead. 

Just  as  the  wigwam  of  the  recent  Mandan  consisted  of  an 
outer  layer  of  earth  supported  on  a  wooden  framework,  so 
also,  in  the  ancient  sepulchral  tumuli,  the  body  was  pro- 
tected only  by  beams  and  planks ;  when  therefore  these  latter 
decayed,  the  earth  sank  in  and  crushed  the  skeleton  within. 
Partly  fi-om  this  cause,  and  partly  from  the  habit  of  burying 
in  ancient  tumuli,  which  makes  it  sometimes  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish the  primary  from  secondary  interments,  it  happens 
that  from  so  many  thousand  tumuli  we  have  very  few  well- 
preserved  skulls  which  indisputably  belong  to  the  ancient 
race.  These  are  decidedly  brachycephalic ;  but  it  is  evident 
that  we  must  not  attempt  to  build  much  upon  so  slight  a 
basis. 

No  proof  of  a  knowledge  of  letters,  no  trace  of  a  burnt 
brick,  have  yet  been  discovered ;  and  so  far  as  we  may  judge 
from  their  arms,  ornaments,  and  pottery,  the  mound-builders 
closely  resembled  some  at  least  of  the  recent  Indian  tribes, 
and  the  earthworks  agree  in  form  with,  if  they  differ  in  mag- 
nitude from,  those  still,  or  until  lately,  in  use.  Yet  this  very 
magnitude  is  sufficient  to  show  that,  at  some  early  period,  the 
great  river  valleys  of  the  United  States  must  have  been  more 
densely  populated  thati  they  were  when  first  discovered  by 
Europeans.  The  immense  number  of  small  earthworks,  and 
the  mounds,  "  which  may  be  counted  by  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands,^'  might  indeed  be  supposed  to  indicate  either  a 
long  time  or  a  great  population ;  but  in  other  cases  we  have 
no  such  alternative.  The  Newark  constructions ;  the  mound 
near  Florence  in  Alabama,  which  is  forty -five  feet  in  height 
by  four  hundred  and  forty  feet  in  circumference  at  the  base, 
with  a  level  area  at  the  summit  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
in  circumference;    the  still  greater  mound  on  the  Etowah 


EVIDENCE   OP  ANCIENT   POPULATION.  281 

river^  also  in  Alabama,  which  has  a  height  of  more  than 
seventy-five  feet,  with  a  circumference  of  twelve  hundred 
feet  at  the  base,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  at  the  summit ; 
the  embankments  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto  river,  which  are 
estimated  to  be  twenty  miles  in  length ;  the  great  mound  at 
Selserstown,  Mississippi,  which  covers  six  acres  of  ground; 
and  the  truncated  pyramid  at  Cahokia,  to  which  we  have 
already  alluded;  these  works  and  many  others  which  might 
have  been  quoted,  indicate  a  population  both  large  and 
stationary ;  for  which  hunting  cannot  have  supplied  enough 
food,  as  it  has  been  estimated  that  in  a  forest  country  each 
hunter  requires  an  area  of  not  less  than  50,000  acres  for  his 
support;  and  which  must,  therefore,  have  derived  its  sup- 
port, in  a  great  measure,  from  agriculture.  "  There  is  not," 
say  Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis,  "and  there  was  not  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  a  single  tribe  of  Indians  (north  of  the 
semi-civilized  nations)  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific, 
which  had  means  of  subsistence  sufficient  to  enable  them  to 
apply,  for  such  purposes,  the  unproductive  labour  necessary 
for  the  work ;  nor  was  there  any  in  such  a  social  state  as  to 
compel  the  labour  of  the  people  to  be  thus  applied."  We 
know  also  that  many,  if  not  most  of  the  Indian  tribes,  at 
that  time  still  cultivated  the  ground  to  a  certain  extent,  and 
there  is  some  evidence  that,  even  within  historic  times,  this 
was  more  the  case  than  at  present.  Thus  De  Nonville  esti- 
mates the  amount  of  Indian  corn  destroyed  by  him  in  four 
Seneca  villages  at  1,200,000  quarters. 

Mr.  Lapham*  has  brought  forward  some  ingenious  reasons 
for  thinking  that  the  forests  of  Wisconsin  were  at  no  very 
distant  period  much  less  general  than  at  present.'  In  the 
first  place,  the  largest  trees  are  probably  not  more  than  five 
hundred  years  old ;  and  large  tracts  are  now  covered  with 
"young  trees,   where   there   are  no   traces   of  antecedent 

*  1.  c.  p.  90. 


282  TRACES  OP  ANCIENT  AGRICULTURE. 

growth."  Every  year  many  trees  are  blown  down,  and 
frequent  storms  pass  tbrougli  the  forest,  throwing  down 
nearly  every  thing  before  them.  Mr.  Lapham  gives  a  map  of 
these  windfalls  in  one  district ;  they  are  very  conspicuous, 
firstly,  because  the  trees,  having  a  certain  quantity  of  earth 
entangled  among  their  roots,  continue  to  vegetate  for  several 
years;  and,  secondly,  because  even  when  the  trees  them- 
selves have  died  and  rotted  away,  the  earth  so  torn  up  forms 
little  mounds,  which  are  often  mistaken  by  the  inexperienced 
for  Indian  graves.  "  From  the  paucity  of  these  little  '  tree- 
mounds,^  we  infer  that  no  very  great  antiquity  can  be 
assigned  to  the  dense  forests  of  Wisconsin,  for  during  a 
long  period  of  time,  with  no  material  change  of  climate, 
we  would  expect  to  find  great  numbers  of  these  little  monu- 
ments of  ancient  storms  scattered  every  where  over  the 
ground." 

But  there  is  other  more  direct  evidence  of  ancient  agricul- 
ture. In  many  places  the  ground  is  covered  with  small 
mammillary  elevations,  which  are  known  as  Indian  corn-hills. 
"  They  are  without  order  of  arrangement,  beipg  scattered 
over  the  ground  with  the  greatest  irregularity.  That  these 
hillocks  were  formed  in  the  manner  indicated  by  their  name, 
is  inferred  from  the  present  custom  of  the  Indians.  The  corn 
is  planted  in  the  same  spot  each  successive  year,  and  the  soil 
is  gradually  brought  up  to  the  size  of  a  little  hill  by  the 
annual  additions*."  But  Mr.  Lapham  has  also  found  traces 
of  an  earlier  and  more  systematic  cultivation.  These  consist 
"  of  low,  parallel  ridges,  as  if  corn  had  been  planted  in 
drills.  They  average  four  feet  in  width,  twenty-five  of  them 
having  been  counted  in  the  space  of  a  hundred  feet;  and 
the  depth  of  the  walk  between  them  is  about  six  inches. 

*  Lapham,  1.  c.  p.  19.  See  also  Report  of  the  Regents  of  the  Uni- 
Cheney,  "  On  Ancient  Monuments  in  versity  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
Western  New  York :"   in  the   13th      1860,  p.  40. 


ANTIQUITY    OP   THE    REMAINS.  283 

These  appearances,  which  are  here  denominated  '  ancient 
garden-beds/  indicate  an  earher  and  more  perfect  system  of 
cultivation  than  that  which  now  prevails;  for  the  present 
Indians  do  not  appear  to  possess  the  ideas  of  taste  and  order 
necessary  to  enable  them  to  arrange  objects  in  consecutive 
rows.  Traces  of  this  kind  of  cultivation,  though  not  very 
abundant,  are  found  in  several  other  parts  of  the  State  (Wis- 
consin). The  garden-beds  are  of  various  sizes,  covering, 
generally,  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  acres.  Some  of  them 
are  reported  to  embrace  even  three  hundred  acres.  As  a 
general  fact,  they  exist  in  the  richest  soil,  as  it  is  found  in  the 
prairies  and  bun  oak  plains.  In  the  latter  case,  trees  of  the 
largest  kind  are  scattered  over  them.'' 

In  the  "  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  " 
it  is  stated  that  no  earthwork  has  ever  been  found  on  the  nrst 
or  lowest  terrace  of  any  of  the  great  rivers,  and  that  "  this 
observation  is  confirmed  by  all  who  have  given  attention  to 
the  subject."  If  true,  this  would,  indeed,  have  indxated  a 
great  antiquity,  but  in  his  subsequent  work  Mr.  Squier 
informs  us  that  "  they  occur  indiscriminately  upon  the  first 
and  upon  the  superior  terraces,  as  also  npon  the  islands  of  the 
lakes  and  rivers."  Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis*  are  of  opinion 
that  the  decayed  state  of  the  skeletons  found  in  the  mounds 
may  enable  us  to  form  "  some  approximate  estimate  of  their 
remote  antiquity,"  especially  when  we  consider  that  the  earth 
round  them  "  is  wonderfully  compact  and  dry,  and  that  the 
conditions  for  their  preservation  are  exceedingly  favourr,ble." 
''In  the  barrows  of  the  ancient  Britons,"  they  add,  "entire 
well-preserved  skeletons  are  found,  although  possessing  an 
undoubted  antiquity  of  at  least  eighteen  hundred  years." 
Dr.  Wilson  t  also  relies  much  on  this  fact,  which,  in  his 
opinion,  "  furnishes  a  stronger  evidence  of  their  great  anti- 
quity than  any  of  the  proofs  that  have  been  derived  cither 
*  1.  c.  p.  1G8.  t  1-  c.  vol.  i.  p.  359. 


284  CONDITION  OP  THE  BONES. 

from  the  age  of  a  subsequent  forest  growth,  or  the  changes 
wrought  on  the  river  terraces  where  they  most  abound."  It 
is  true  that  the  bones  in  Stone  Age  graves  are  often  ex- 
tremely well  preserved ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  those  in 
Saxon  barrows  have  in  many  cases  entirely  perished.  In 
fact,  the  condition  of  ancient  bones  depends  so  much  on  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  have  been  placed,  that  we  must 
not  attribute  much  importance  to  this  argument. 

The  evidence  derived  from  the  forests  is  more  reliable. 
Thus  Captain  Peck  *  observed  near  the  Ontonagon  river,  and 
at  a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet,  some  stone  mauls  and  other 
implements  in  contact  with  a  vein  of  copper.  Above  these 
was  the  fallen  trunk  of  a  large  cedar,  and  "  over  all  grew  a 
hemlock-tree,  the  roots  of  which  spread  entirely  above  the 

fallen  tree" and  indicated,   in  his   estimation,  a 

growth  of  not  less  than  three  centuries,  to  which  must  then 
be  added  the  age  of  the  cedar,  which  indicates  a  still  "longer 
succession  of  centuries,  subsequent  to  that  protracted  period 
during  which  the  deserted  trench  was  slowly  filled  up  with 
accumulations  of  many  winters." 

The  late  President  Harrison,  in  an  address  to  the  Historical 
Society  of  Ohio,  made  some  very  interesting  remarks  on  this 
subject,  which  are  quoted  by  Messrs.  Squier  and  Davis  f. 
"  The  process,"  he  says,  "  by  which  nature  restores  the  forest . 
to  its  original  state,  after  being  once  cleared,  is  extremely 
slow.  The  rich  lands  of  the  west  are,  indeed,  soon  covered 
again,  but  the  character  of  the  growth  is  entirely  different, 
and  continues  so  for  a  long  period.  In  several  places  upon 
the  Ohio,  and  upon  the  farm  which  I  occupy,  clearings  were 
made  in  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  and  subsequently 
abandoned  and  sufiered  to  grow  up.  Some  of  these  new 
forests  are  now  sure  of  fifty  years'  growth,  but  they  have 
made  so  little  progress  towards  attaining  the  appearance  of 
*  Wilson,  1.  c.vol.  i.  p.  256.  f  1-  c.  p.  306. 


AMERICAN   FOEESTS.  285 

the  immediately  contiguous  forest,  as  to  induce  any  man  of 
reflection  to  determine  that  at  least  ten  times  fifty  years 
must  elapse  before  their  complete  assimilation  be  effected. 
We  find  in  the  ancient  works  all  that  variety  of  trees  which 
give  such  unrivalled  beauty  to  our  forests,  in  natural  pro- 
portions. The  first  growth  of  the  same  kind  of  land,  once 
cleared,  and  then  abandoned  to  nature,  on  the  contrary,  is 
nearly  homogeneous,  often  stinted  to  one  or  two,  at  most 
three  kinds  of  timber.  If  the  ground  has  been  cultivated, 
the  yellow  locust  will  quickly  spring  up  ;  •  if  not  cultivated, 
the  black  and  white  walnut  will  be  the  prevailing  growth. 

Of  what  immense  age,  then,  must  be  the  works  so 

often  referred  to,  covered  as  they  are  by  at  least  the  second 
growth,  after  the  primitive  forest  state  was  regained  *  ?  " 

We  obtain  another  indication  of  antiquity  in  the  "^  garden- 
beds,"  which  we  have  already  described.  This  system  of  cul- 
tivation has  long  been  replaced  by  the  irregular  "  cornhills ;" 
and  yet,  according  to  Mr.  Laphamf,  the  garden-beds  are 
much  more  recent  than  some  of  the  mounds,  across  which 
they  sometimes  extend  in  the  same  manner  as  over  the 
adjoining  grounds.  If,  therefore,  these  mounds  belong  to  the 
same  area  as  those  which  are  covered  with  wood,  we  get  thus 
indications  of  thi-ee  periods;  the  first  that  of  the  mounds 
themselves;  the  second,  that  of  the  garden-beds;  and  the 
third,  that  of  the  forests. 

But  American  agriculture  was  not  imported  from  abroad ; 
it  resulted  from,  and  in  return  rendered  possible,  the  gradual 
development  of  American  semi-civilization.  This  is  proved 
by  the  fact,  that  the  grains  of  the .  Old  World  were  entii-ely 
absent,  and  that  American  agriculture  was  founded  on  the 
maize,  an  American  plant.  Thus,  therefore,  we  appear  to 
have  indications  of  four  long  periods. 

1.  That  in  which,  from  an  original  barbarism,  the  Araeri- 
*  See  also  Arch.  Amer.,  vol.  i.  p.  306.  f  1-  c  p.  19. 


286  INDICATIONS    OF   FOUR    PERIODS. 

can  tribes  developed  a  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  a  power 
of  combination. 

2.  That  in  wbicli  for  tbe  first  time  mounds  were  erected, 
and  other  great  works  undertaken. 

3.  The  age  of  the  "  garden-beds,"  which  occupy  some  at 
least  of  the  mounds.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  these  par- 
ticular ^^garden-beds"  were  not  in  use  until  after  the 
mounds  had  lost  their  sacred  character  in  the  eyes  of  the 
occupants  of  the  soil;  for  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that 
works  executed  with  so  much  care  would  be  thus  desecrated 
by  their  builders. 

4.  The  period  in  which  man  relapsed  into  partial  bar- 
barism, and  the  spots  which  had  been  first  forest,  then, 
perhaps,  sacred  monuments,  and  thirdly,  cultivated  ground, 
relapsed  into  forest  once  more. 

But  even  if  we  attribute  to  these  changes  all  the  import- 
ance which  has  ever  been  claimed  for  them,  they  will  not 
require  an  antiquity  of  more  than  three  thousand  years.  I 
do  not,  of  course,  deny  that  the  period  may  have  been  very 
much  greater,  but,  in  my  opinion  at  least,  it  need  not  be 
greater.  At  the  same  time  there  are  other  observations, 
which  if  they  shall  eventually  prove  to  be  correct,  would 
indicate  a  very  much  higher  antiquity. 

One  of  these  is  an  account*  by  Dr.  A.  C.  Koch  of  a  mas- 
todon foimd  in  Gasconade  County,  Missouri,  which  had 
apparently  been  stoned  to  death  by  the  Indians,  and  then 
partially  consumed  by  fire.  The  fire,  he  says,  was  evidently 
"  not  an  accidental  one,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  had  been 
kindled  by  human  agency,  and,  according  to  all  appearance, 
with  the  design  of  killing  the  huge  creature,  which  had  been 
found  mired  in  the  mud  and  in  an  entirely  helpless  condition. 


'■•=  Trans,  of  the  Academy  of  Science  of  St.  Louis,  1857,  p.  61. 


MAN  AND   THE   MASTODON.  287 

I  found,  also,  among  the  ashes,  bones  and  rocks,  several 
arrow-heads,  a  stone  spear-head,  and  some  stone  axes." 

In  a  second  case  the  same  writer  assures  us  that  he  found 
several  stone  arrow-heads  mingled  with  the  bones  of  a  mas- 
todou.  "  One  of  the  arrow-heads  lay  underneath  the  thigh- 
bone of  the  skeleton,  the  bone  actually  resting  in  contact 
upon  it ;  so  that  it  could  not  have  been  brought  thither  after 
the  deposit  of  the  bone;  a  fact  which  I  was  careful  tho- 
roughly to  investigate."  These  statements,  however,  have 
not  generally  been  accepted  by  geologists. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  Dr.  Dickeson,  of  Natchez, 
found  the  os  innominatum  of  a  man  with  some  bones  of  the 
Mastodon  ohioticus,  which  had  fallen  from  the  side  of  a  cliff 
undermined  by  a  rivulet.  Sir  C.  Lyell  has  suggested  that 
this  bone  may  have  been  derived  from  one  of  the  Indian 
graves,  which  are  very  numerous  in  this  locality.  Dr.  Usher, 
on  the  contrary*,  regards  this  bone  as  "  an  undoubted  fossil," 
belonging  to  the  same  period  as  the  remains  of  the  Mas- 
todon with  which  it  was  discovered.  Again,  Count  Pour- 
talis  has  found  some  human  bones  in  a  calcareous  conglome- 
rate, estimated  by  Agassiz  to  be  ten  thousand  years  old. 
The  last  case  to  which  I  will  refer  is  that  recorded  by  Dr. 
Douler,  who  obtained  from  an  excavation  near  New  Orleans 
some  charcoal  and  a  human  skeleton,  to  which  he  is  inclined 
to  attribute  an  antiquity  of  no  less  than  fifty  thousand  years. 

The  plain  on  which  the  city  of  New  Orleans  is  built,  and 
which  rises  only  about  ten  feet  above  the  sea  level,  consists 
of  alluvial  soil,  which  has  been  proved  by  borings  to  have  a 
depth  of  more  than  five  hundred  feet,  and  which  contains 
several  successive  layers  of  cypresses.  The  river  banks  show- 
similar  remains  of  ancient  forests,  and  Messrs.  Dickeson  and 
Brown  have  found  remains  of  no  less  than  ten  cypress  forests 

Dr.  Usher,  in  Nott  and  Gliddon's  Types  of  Mankind,  p.  344. 


288  ANTIQUITY  OF   MAN   IN   AMERICA. 

at  diflferent  levels  below  the  present  surface.  These  trees  are 
not  unfrequently  as  much,  as  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and  there 
are  from  95  to  120  rings  in  an  inch.  The  human  skeleton 
above  referred  to  was  found  at  a  depth  of  sixteen  feet,  and 
"  beneath  the  roots  of  a  cypress-tree  belonging  to  the  fourth 
forest  level  below  the  surface  *."  Whether,  therefore,  we 
accept  Dr,  Douler's  calculation  or  not,  it  is  obvious  that,  if 
the  statements  are  thoroughly  trustworthy,  this  skeleton  cer- 
tainly must  carry  back  the  existence  of  man  in  America  to  a 
very  early  period. 

Yet,  until  further  evidence  is  obtained,  the  question  can- 
not, I  think,  be  regarded  as  entirely  decided ;  and  even  if, 
on  h  priori  grounds,  the  idea  seems  probable,  there  does  not 
as  yet  appear  to  be  any  conclusive  proof  that  man  co-existed 
in  America  with  the  mammoth  and  mastodon. 

*  Dr.  Usher,  in  Nott  and  Gliddon's  Types  of  Mankind,  p.  338. 


289 


CHAPTER  IX. 

QUATERNARY    MAMMALIA. 

IN  addition  to  those  still  existing,  the  fauna  of  Northern 
Europe  during  the  Palaeolithic  period  comprised  several 
species  of  mammalia  which  have  either  become  entirely 
extinct,  or  very  much  restricted  in  their  geographical  distri- 
bution, since  the  appearance  of  man  in  Europe.  The  principal 
of  these  are — 

Ursus  s2Jeloeus  (the  cave-bear). 

U.  priscus. 

Hycena  spelcea  (the  cave-hyaena). 

Felis  spelcea  (the  cave-lion). 

Elcphas  primigenius  (the  mammoth) . 

E.  antiquus. 

Rhinoceros  tichormnus  (the  hairy  rhinoceros). 

R.  leptorhinus,  Cuv. 

JK.  Jiemitcechus. 

Hippopotamus  major  (the  hippopotamus). 

Ovibos  moschatus  (the  musk  ox). 

Megaceros  hibernicus  (the  Irish  elk). 

E.  fossilis  (the  wild  horse) . 

Gulo  luscus  (the  glutton). 

Cervus  tarandus  (the  reindeer). 

Bison  Europoius  (the  aurochs). 

Bos  primigcnius  (the  urus) . 
The  first  ten  of  these  have  been  regarded,  until  lately,  as 
altogether  extinct,  but  recent  researches  have  induced  many 
21 


290  SUCCESSION    OP   SPECIES. 

naturalists  to  regard  some  of  them  as  the  direct  ancestors  of 
species  still  existing  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  so  that  the 
Irish  elk,  the  elephants,  and  the  three  species  of  rhinoceros 
are  perhaps  the  only  ones  which  are  absolutely  extinct.  Most 
of  the  smaller  species  now  inhabiting  Europe  already  existed 
in  Quaternary  times,  from  which  we  may  conclude  that  the 
changes  which  have  taken  place  were  due  to  a  gradual 
change  of  circumstances,  rather  than  to  any  sudden  cataclysm, 
or  general  destruction  of  life :  it  is  also  very  improbable  that 
the  extinction  of  the  diflFerent  species  was  simultaneous;  and, 
acting  on  this  idea,  M.  Lartet  has  attempted*  to  construct 
a  palaeontological  chronology. 

He  considers  that  we  may  establish  four  divisions,  namely, 
the  age  of  the  cave-bear,  of  the  mammoth  and  rhinoceros,  of 
the  reindeer,  and  of  the  aurochs.  It  is  evident,  I  think,  that 
the  appearance  of  these  mammalia  in  Europe  was  not  simul- 
taneous, and  that  their  disappearance  has  been  successive. 
The  evidence  is  very  strong  that  in  Central  and  Western 
Europe  the  aurochs  survived  the  reindeer,  and  that  the  rein- 
deer, on  the  other  hand,  lived  on  to  a  later  period  than  the 
mammoth  or  the  woolly-haired  rhinoceros.  But  the  chrono- 
logical distinction  between  these  two  species  and  the  cave-bear 
does  not  appear  to  be  so  well  established.  Admitting  that  the 
cave-bear  has  not  yet  been  found  in  the  river  gravels  of  the 
Somme  valley,  we  must  remember  that  the  animal  was  essen- 
tially a  cave-dweller,  and  that  its  absence  is,  perhaps,  to  be 
attributed  rather  to  the  absence  of  caves  than  to  the  extinction 
of  the  species.  Moreover,  the  bones  found  in  the  gi^avel  are 
very  much  broken,  and  are  seldom  in  such  a  condition  as  to 
enable  the  palgeontologist  to  distinguish  the  remains  of  U. 
sjoeloens  from  those  of  other  large  bears. 

There  is  as  yet  no  evidence  that  the  cave-bear  existed  in 
Europe  before  the  commencement  of  the  quaternary  period^ 

*  Ann.  des  Sci.  Nat.  1861,  p.  217. 


THE    CAVE-BEAR.  291 

when  it  appears  to  have  been  abundant  in  Centi'al  Europe, 
and  in  the  southern  parts  of  Russia.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
it  has  been  discovered  north  of  the  Baltic,  nor  has  it  yet 
been  found  in  Spain.  In  Italy,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  been 
met  with,  and  in  one  instance  apparently  in  conjunction  with 
a  pohshed  stone  implement,  and  even  pottery*.  Mr.  Regnoli 
has  been  so  good  as  to  forward  me  a  cast  of  the  speci- 
men on  which  this  statement  rests;  it  belongs  to  the 
cavc-bcar,  but  I  can  hardly  regard  it  as  being  undoubtedly 
contemporaneous  with  the  pottery  and  stone  axe  which  were 
found  near  it.  In  Northern  Europe  no  such  case  has  yet 
been  met  with,  but  it  is  of  course  possible  that  in  Italy  the 
cave-bear  may  have  survived  to  a  more  recent  period  than  in 
the  region  north  of  the  Alps.  No  trace  of  it  has  yet  been 
found  by  Mr.  Busk  and  Dr.  Falconer,  among  the  numerous 
remains  from  Gibraltar. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  discovery  of  remains  belong- 
ing to  this  species  was  that  in  Brixham  Cave,  which  is  thus 
described  by  Dr.  Falconer  in  a  letter  to  me,  from  which  I 
quote,  as  the  facts  have  not  been  so  clearly  stated  in  any 
published  report: — '^All  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  entire  leg  of  cave-bear — femur,  with  tibia  and  fibula 
folded  together,  with  the  ball  of  astragalus  partly  dislocated, 
and  its  position  in  comminuted  shale,  below  the  ochreous 
cave-earth,  and  above  a  well-defined  flint  implement,  were 
determined  by  me  at  Torquay  and  Brixham  on  September  2. 
Mr.  Pengelly  gave  us  the  data 

"  I  identified  the  remains  and  the  flint,  and  drew  the  in- 
ference that  the  leg  must  have  been  introduced  with  its  liga- 
ment at  least  fresh,  after  the  flint  manufactured  by  the  hand 
of  man  had  been  introduced  into  the  lower  cave  deposit." 

Mr.  Busk,  however,  who  has  carefully   examined   these 

*  Bicherche  Paleoetnologiche  nelle  Alpi  Apnane.     Nota  del  Dott.  C.  Reg- 
noli. 


292  THE    CAVE-BEAR. 

bones,  and  detached  them  more  completely  from  the  matrix 
in  which  they  were  imbedded  than  was  the  case  when 
they  were  examined  by  Dr.  Falconer,  is  of  opinion  that 
there  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  referring  them  to  Ursus 
spelceiis  rather  than  to  one  of  the  other  large  species  of  fossil 
bear. 

It  has  been  stated  that  remains  of  the  cave-bear  have 
occurred  in  the  river  gravels  at  Hford  and  Gray^s  Thurrocks. 
In  the  opinion,  however,  both  of  Mr.  Busk  and  Mr.  Boyd 
Dawkins  we  have  no  clear  case  of  the  remains  of  this  species 
being  found  in  river-drift  gravels.  In  fact,  as  materials  for 
comparison  have  increased,  it  has  proved  more  and  more  diffi- 
cult to  separate  TJrsus  spelceus  from  other  large  species  of  bear. 
The  jaws  and  teeth  are  characteristic,  but  the  other  portions 
of  the  skeleton  are  scarcely  distinguishable,  especially  when 
they  are  so  much  fractured,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  those 
found  in  gravel  deposits. 

Vogt,  indeed,  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  every  grada- 
tion may  be  traced  between  this  species  and  our  common 
brown  bear  {Ursus  Arctos),  and  Brandt  leans  to  the  same 
opinion*.  Mr.  Boyd  Dawkins  also  says  that  "those  who 
have  compared  the  French,  German,  and  British  specimens 
gradually  realize  the  fact  that  the  fossil  remains  of  the  bears 
form  a  graduated  series,  in  which  all  the  variations  that  at 
first  sight  appear  specific  vanish  awayf."  Whether,  how- 
ever, the  cave-bear  will  eventually  be  regarded  as  belonging  to 
the  same  species  as  the  brown  bear  or  not,  it  will  still  remain 
a  well-characterized  variety,  and  one  which  has  never  yet 
been  met  with  in  the  peat  mosses,  in  the  tumuli  of  Western 
Europe,  in  the  Danish  shell-mounds,  the  Swiss  lake-villages, 
or,  in  short,  associated  with  Neolithic  remains. 


*  Zoogeograpliisclie  tmd  Palaeon-  f  Pleistocene   Mammalia,  Palason- 

tologische  Beitrage,  1867,  p.  220.'  togrp-pliical  Soc.  v.  xviii.  p.  xxii. 


THE   CAVE-HYiENA.      THE   CAVE-LION.  293 

Mr.  Busk*  has  recently  made  the  very  interesting  obser- 
vation that  some  remains  of  bear  found  in  our  British  caves 
and  gravels  are  identical  with  the  corresponding  bones  of 
U.  ferox,  or  grizzly  bear  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  cave-hycenn,  like  the  preceding  species,  is  in  Europe 
characteristic  of  the  Palseolithic  age,  but  it  is  now  regarded  as 
scarcely  distinguishable  specifically  from  the  Hycena  crocuta, 
or  spotted  hyeena  of  Southern  Africa. 

Felts  spclcea,  the  cave-lion,  was  on  the  whole  of  a  larger 
size  than  the  lions  of  the  present  day,  and  possesses  in  an 
exaggerated  degree  the  characters  by  which  that  species  is 
distinguishable  from  the  tiger.  It  has  hitherto  been  regarded 
as  a  distinct  species,  but  Messrs.  Dawkins  and  Sanford  now 
considerf  it  as  only  a  large  variety  of  the  hon.  It  has 
not  yet  been  found  in  Scotland,  Ireland,  Scandinavia,  Den- 
mark, or  Prussia.  It  occurs,  however,  in  France,  Germany, 
Italy,  and  Sicily.  As  long  ago  as  1672,  Dr.  John  Hains  figured 
a  bone  of  this  species  from  the  Carpathians,  an  observation 
of  considerable  interest,  as  it  carries  the  area  of  the  F.  spelcca 
so  near  to  the  mountains  of  Thessaly  where,  as  Herodotus 
tells  us,  the  camels  attached  to  the  army  of  Xerxes  were 
attacked  by  lions  J.  Messrs.  Boyd  Dawkins  and  Sanford  refer 
also  to  the  same  species,  the  remains  found  at  Natchez,  in 
Mississippi,  and  which  were  described  by  Dr.  Leidy  as  a  new 
species  under  the  name  of  Felis  atrox.  The  characters,  how- 
ever, which  induced  Dr.  Leidy  to  regard  his  specimens  as 
distinct^  are  met  with  in  some  of  the  bones  of  i^.  spelcea  from 
the  Mendip  Hills.  If  this  opinion  is  correct,  jP.  speloea  must 
have  stretched  eastwards  across  Russia  and  Siberia,  where 
no  remains  of  it  have  yet  been  observed.  Inasmuch,  how- 
ever,  as  the   mammoth,    the   musk   ox,  the   reindeer,   the 

*  Gcol.  Journal.  ing  Memoir  on  the  Zoology  of  An- 

t  Palajontological     Soc.    V.     for  cient  Europe,  Cam.  Phil.  Soc,  March, 

1868,  p.  149.  1862. 
X  See  also  Mr.  Newton's  interest- 


294  THE   MAMMOTH. 

bison,  the  elk,  tlie  horse,  the  wolf, — in  short,  many  of 
our  most  characteristic  quaternary  mammalia — occur  also  in 
America,  it  seems  a  priori  rather  probable  than  otherwise, 
that  Messrs.  Dawkins  and  Sanford  are  correct  in  regarding 
F.  atrox  of  that  Continent  as  specifically  identical  with  the 
F.  spelcea  of  Europe. 

Remains  of  a  second  large  species  of  Felis,  considered  to 
be  identical  with  the  leopard,  have  been  discovered  in  the 
bone-caves  of  England,  France,  Germany,  Belgium,  Italy, 
and  Spain ;  and  the  lynx  has  been  found  by  Dr.  Ransom,  in 
a  Derbyshire  cave. 

The  Mammoth,  or  Elejphas  pmmigenius,  had  very  exten- 
sive geographical  range.  Its  remaias  are  found  in  North 
America,  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Escholtz  Bay,  and  from 
Behring's  Straits  to  Texas ;  in  the  old  continent,  from  the 
farthest  extremity  of  Siberia,  to  the  extreme  west  of  Europe, 
occurring,  though  rarely,  even  in  Ireland;  it  crossed  the 
Alps,  and  established  itself  in  Italy  as  far  southward  as 
Rome,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  discovered  ia  Naples,  south  of 
the  Pyrenees,  in  any  of  the  Mediterranean  Islands  or  in 
Scandinavia.     In  Denmark  it  occurs,  though  rarely. 

In  the  extreme  north,  on  the  contrary,  remains  Oi  this 
species  are  remarkably  abundant.  Kotzebue  was  struck  by 
this  in  Escholtz  Bay  (N.  W.  America),  and  his  remarks 
have  been  fully  confirmed  by  Beechey*.  The  islands  of 
Lachowski  and  New  Siberia,  are  said  to  be  almost  made 
up  of  the  bones  of  extinct  animals,  but  particularly  of  the 
mammoth;  from  them  and  from  other  parts  of  Siberia  so 
much  fossil  ivory  is  obtained  that  it  forms  a  regular  article 
of  commerce.  Nor  have  skeletons  alone  been  discovered. 
In  1 799  a  Tungusian  hunter  discovered  the  body  of  a  mam- 
moth embedded  in  a  cliff  of  frozen  soil,  where  it  remained 
for  several  years.  In  1806  it  was  visited  by  Mr.  Adams, 
*  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the  Pacific,  vol.  i.  p.  257. 


THE   MAMMOTH.  295 

who  found  it  partly  devoured  by  wolves  and  other  wild 
animals,  and  partly  removed  by  the  Yakuts,  who  used  it  as 
food  for  their  dogs,  fortunately,  however,  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  animal  still  remained.  The  skin  was  dark 
grey,  covered  with  reddish  wool,  mixed  with  long  black 
bristles,  somewhat  thicker  than  horsehair.  Since  that  time 
several  other  well-preserved  portions  of  the  mammoth  have 
been  discovered  in  Siberia,  and  it  was  probably  from  earlier 
discoveries  of  a  similar  nature  that  the  Siberian  tribes  came  to 
regard  the  mammoth  as  a  gigantic  burrowing  animal. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that  the  state  of  preserva- 
tion in  which  mammoths  have  been  found  is  no  evidence  of 
recent  existence,  for  when  once  enveloped  in  frozen  soil  they 
might  remain  unchanged  for  an  indefinite  period.  The  best 
authorities  consider  that  the  mammoth  and  the  woolly-haired 
rhinoceros  lived  in  Siberia  before,  as  well  as  during  the  glacial 
period,  but  neither  of  them  has  yet  been  found  in  Europe  in 
any  stratum  anterior  to  the  river-drift  gravels,  from  which 
Murchison,  De  Verneuil,  and  Keyserling  conceived  that  these 
animals  lived  in  Siberia  long  before  they  found  their  way 
into  Europe  ;  that,  in  fact,  they  belong  to  the  tertiary  fauna 
of  Northern  Asia,  though  they  did  not  make  their  appearance 
in  Europe  until  the  quaternary  period.  Falconer,  on  the  con- 
trary, was  inclined  to  believe,  principally  from  the  specimens 
collected  by  the  Kev.  John  Gunn  and  the  Rev.  S.  W.  King, 
that  E.  primigenius  existed  in  England  before  the  deposition 
of  the  boulder-clay.  Mr.  Gunn  himself,  however,  regards 
these  specimens  as  post-glacial,  and  we  certainly  do  not  at 
present  appear  to  have  any  satisfactory  evidence  that  the 
mammoth  existed  in  England  in  pre-glacial  times.  What- 
ever doubt,  however,  there  may  be  as  to  the  date  at  which 
this  species  made  its  appearance  in  Europe,  we  can  no  longer 
doubt  that  our  ancestors,  or  at  least  our  predecessors,  co- 
existed in   England  with   the    mammoth,   which   they    no 


296        EXISTENCE    OF    THE    AFRICAN   ELEPHANT   IN   EUROPE. 

doubt    hunted,   as   the  wildest  tribes   of  Africa  and  India 
do  now. 

In  Southern  Europe  undoubted  remains  of  the  existing 
African  elephant  have  been  met  with,  but  the  only  other 
species  which  inhabited  northen  Europe  during  the  quater- 
nary period  was  the  Elephas  antiquus,  remains  of  which  have 
been  found  in  English  caves  and  river  gravels,  though,  on 
the  whole,  it  had  a  more  southerly  range  than  the  mammoth. 
It  is  generally  associated  with  Rhinoceros  lejptorliinus  Cuv., 
while,  on  the  contrary,  the  mammoth  and  R.  tichorJmius 
usually  occur  together. 

Pig.  179. 


V-HVL 


Molar  Tooth  of  E.  antiquus. 


Fig.  179  represents  a  molar  tooth  o^  E.  antiquus,  and  Fig. 
180  one  belonging  to  E.  pri7nigenius ;  it  will  at  once  be  seen 
that  the  plates  are  much  narrower  in  the  latter  than  in  the 
former. 


Fig.  1 


Molar  Tooth  of  Mammoth. 


At  least  three  species  of  rhinoceros  inhabited  Europe 
during  the  quaternary  period;  on  this  all  are  agreed,  but, 
unfortunately  the  nomenclature  is  involved  in  very  consider- 


THE    QUATERNARY    SPECIES    OF    RHINOCEROS.  297 

alle  confusion.  R.  Ic^torhinus  was  originally  so  named  by 
Cuvier  in  1812,  from  a  drawing  of  a  specimen  found  in  the 
Val  d'Arno^  and  in  which  the  osseous  septum  between  "the 
nostrils  was  represented  as  deficient.  In  1835,  however, 
M.  De  Christol  stated  that  he  had  examined  the  specimen  in 
question,  that  the  drawing  was  incorrect,  and  the  name  con- 
sequently inapplicable.  Subsequently,  however.  Dr.  Falconer 
visited  Italy  and  satisfied  himself  that,  after  all,  the  original 
drawing  was  correct,  and  that  therefore  Cuvier's  name  must 
be  restored.  In  the  mean  time  Prof.  Owen  had  unfortunately 
described  another  species  of  rhinoceros  found  at  Clacton  as 
R.  lejjtorhinus,  which  name  must  of  course  be  abandoned  if 
Cuvier^s  name  is  permitted  to  stand.  Hence  Dr.  Falconer 
proposed  to  call  this  latter  species  R.  hcmitcechus.  It  is 
necessary  therefore  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  R.  leptorhmus 
of  Owen  is  not  the  R.  leptorhimis  of  Cuvier,  but  that  it  is  the 
R.  hemitcechns  of  Falconer,  while  M.  Lartet  maintains  that  it 
is  identical  with  the  R.  Mercldi  of  Kaup.  On  the  other  hand, 
M.  De  Christol,  in  1835,  described  a  rhinoceros,  which 
undoubtedly  wanted  the  nasal  septum,  and  believing  himself 
to  have  proved  that  the  figure  on  which  Cuvier  based  his 
description  of  R.  leptorhimis  was  incorrect,  he  named  this 
species  R.  merjarhinus.  Hence  Cuvier's  R.  leptorlnnus  is 
identical  with  De  Christol's  R.  megarJunus.  The  third  species 
is  the  R.  tichorhinus  of  Cuv.,  a  name  which  has  been  generally 
adopted,  although  Blumenbach  had  previously  proposed  that 
of  7?.  antiquitatis. 

Mr.  Boyd  Dawkins  considers  that  there  is  still  some  doubt 
about  the  real  character  of  the  specimen  on  which  Cuvier 
founded  his  R.  leptorhinus,  and  consequently  adopts  the  fol- 
lowing nomenclature :  R.  mcgarJdnus,  De  Christol ;  R.  lep- 
torhimis, Owen  ;  and  R.  tichorhinus,  Cuvier.  M.  Lartet  uses 
the  names  R.  leptorhinus,  Cuv. ;  R.  Merldi,  Kaup ;  and  R. 
tichorhinus,  Cuvier.     These  differences  of  opinion,  however. 


298  EHINOCEKOS   TTCHOEHJNUS. 

relate  merely  to  tlie  nomenclature,  and  do  not  toucli  tlie 
existence  of  the  species  themselves.  The  first  two  belonged 
to  the  pre-glacial  as  well  as  to  the  post-glacial  period.  The 
woolly-haired,  two-horned,  smooth- skinned  R.  ticJiorhimis, 
on  the  contrary,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  commonest 
in  post-glacial  times,  has  not  yet  been  proved  to  have  existed 
in  Europe  in  the  period  before  the  glacial  epoch.  The  first 
two  species  also  have  a  more  southerly  range,  having  been 
found  in  Italy  and  Spain,  while  B.  tichorhinus,  though  it  has 
been  met  with  from  the  extreme  north  of  Siberia*,  through- 
out Central  Europe  and  England,  does  not  appear  to  have 
crossed  either  the  Alps  or  the  Pyrenees.  It  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  no  remains  of  rhinoceros  have  yet  been 
discovered  in  Sicily,  Malta,  Ireland  f,  or  America  J  in  all  of 
which  countries  the  elephant  has  been  met  with.  On  the 
other  hand  a  single  tooth  has,  according  to  Brandt,  been 
found  in  Scandinavia,  where  no  remains  of  elephant  have  yet 
been  met  with. 

The  Musk-ox,  or  rather  "tnush-slieep,  is  at  present  con- 
fined to  the  northern  part  of  Arctic  America.  Its  remains, 
however,  occur  in  Siberia;  and  in  1856  Mr.  Kingsley  and 
I  were  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  a  portion  of  a  skull  from  the 
large  gravel-pit  near  Maidenhead  station.  Since  then  I  have 
met  with  it  again  at  Greenstreet  Green,  near  Bromley,  in 
Kent ;  it  has  also  been  found  in  the  gravel  of  the  Avon,  near 
Bath,  in  that  of  the  Severn,  near  Gloucester,  and  at  Cray- 
ford.  In  France  it  has  been  found  twice;  namely,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Oise,  and  in  the  Dordogne. 

The  Hippopotamus,  though  hitherto  regarded  as  a  distinct 
species  from  the  H.  amphihius  of  Africa,  was,  if  not  identical 

*  In  more  than  one  instance  tte  f  Lartet,  Note  sur  deux  tetes  de 

actual   carcase    of  this  animal  has  Camassiers  Fossiles.     Ann.    d.   Sci. 

been  found  preserved  like  the  Mam-  Nat.,  5  ser.  vol.  viii. 

moth,  hj  being  imbedded  in  frozen  t  B'Archiac,  Lecons  sur  le  Fanne 

soil.  quaternaire,  p.  196. 


THE    MUSK    OX.       THE    HIPPOPOTAMUS.  299 

witlij  at  any  rate  very  closely  allied  to  it.  Some  palaeontolo- 
gists believe  that,  like  the  mammoth  and  the  R.  tichorhinus, 
it  was  covered  with  hair;  we  have,  however,  no  distinct 
evidence  in  support  of  this  view.  It  may,  moreover,  be 
remarked,  though  too  much  importance  must  not  be  attached 
to  the  observation,  that  our  ancient  hippopotamus  has  been 
less  frequently  found  in  association  with  these  two  species, 
than  with  E.  antiquus  and  R.  hemifcechus,  Falc.  {leptorhinus, 
Owen),  which,  as  just  mentioned,  have  a  more  southerly 
range.  Thus,  in  this  country,  it  has  only  been  found  in  four 
bone-caves,  those  of  Durdham  Down,  Kirkdale,  Kents  Hole 
Cavern,  and  RavensclifF  in  Gower,  and  in  the  two  former  it 
was  associated  with  E.  antiquus  and  R.  liemitcechus.  In  the 
river  gravels  its  remains  arc  found  at  Grays  and  Ilford, 
associated  with  the  R.  tichorhinus,  R.  leptorliinus,  and  R. 
hemitcechus ;  at  Walton  and  Folkestone,  with  Elephas  an- 
tiquus; at  Peckham,  with  E.  antiquus  and  E.  primigenius ; 
at  Bedford,  with  E.  antiquus,  the  tichorhine  rhinoceros,  and 
the  reindeer;  and  at  Barton,  with  the  mammoth  and  R. 
hemitcechus*. 

The  magnificent  Irish  Elk,  or  Megaceros  hibernicus,  which 
attained  a  height  of  more  than  ten  feet,  with  antlers  measur- 
ing eleven  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  may  perhaps  have  lived  to  a 
somewhat  more  recent  period,  but  appears  to  have  had  a 
much  more  restricted  range.  Its  remains  have  been  found  in 
Germany  as  far  as  Silesia,  in  France  as  far  as  the  Pyrenees, 
and  in  Central  Italy.  It  seems,  however,  to  have  been  most 
abundant  in  the  British  Isles,  and  especially  in  Ireland.  It 
is  reported  to  have  been  frequently  found  in  peat  bogs,  but 
Professor  Owen  believes  that,  in  reality,  the  bones  generally 
occur  in  the  lacustrine  shell  iuarl,  which  underlies  the  peat 
or  bog  earth  f. 

*  The  British  Pleistocene  Mammalia.  Palseontological  Soc.  1866,  p. 
xxviii.  f  Owen,  1.  c.  p.  465. 


800  THE    IRISH   ELK. 

•In  the  Niebelungen  Lied  of  tlie  twelfth  century,  a  mys- 
terious animal  is  mentioned  under  the  name  of  schelch  : 

After  this  he  straightway  slew  a  bison  and  an  elk, 
Of  the  strong  uri  four,  and  one  fierce  schelch  : 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  writers  that  the  schelch  was, 
in  fact,  the  Megaceros  hihernicus.  There  is,  however,  no  suf- 
ficient reason  for  this  hypothesis,  and  we  must  remember 
that  the  same  poem,  as  Dr.  Buckland  has  pointed  out,  con- 
tains allusions  to  giants,  dwarfs,  pigmies,  and  fire-dragons. 
Neither  Ceesar  nor  Tacitus  mention  the  Irish  elk,  and  they 
would  surely  not  have  omitted  such  a  remarkable  animal,  if 
it  had  existed  in  their  time. 

No  remains  of  the  Irish  elk  have  yet  been  found  in  asso- 
ciation with  bronze,  nor  indeed  am  I  aware  of  any  which  can 
be  referred  to  the  later  Stone,  or  Neolithic  Age, 

These  twelve  species,  then,  are  characteristic  of  the  river- 
drift  deposits.  Most  of  them  occur  also  in  the  loess  of  the 
Rhine  and  its  principal  tributaries,  but  they  have  not  yet 
been  met  with  in  the  peat  bogs.  They  never  occur  in  the 
Kjokkenmoddings,  the  Lake-habitations,  or  the  tumuli;  nor 
are  there  any  traditions  in  Western  Europe  which  can  be 
regarded  as  indicating,  even  in  the  most  obscure  manner, 
any  recollection  of  these  gigantic  mammalia. 

The  Wild  Horses,  which  in  ancient  times  inhabited  Europe, 
differed  somewhat  from  our  present  breed,  and  have  been 
described  as  separate  races  by  Professor  Owen,  under  the 
names  of  Eqims  fossilis  andEqims  spelceus.  The  latter  is  the 
race  which  was  largely  used  for  food  by  the  ancient  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Bruniquel  Cave  in  Dordogne*.  It  was  rather 
small  in  size,  but  appears  to  have  resembled  the  true  horse 
more  than  the  ass*.     Some  naturalists  have,  indeed,  l>een 

*  Owen,    Philosophical    Transac-       meyer,  Beitrage  zur  Kenntniss  der 
tions,  1869,  p.  535.      See  also  Ruti-       fossilen  Pferden., 


WILD    HOKSES.  301 

disposed  to  believe  that  Europe  contained  two  wild  species 
of  the  genus  Equus  during  quaternary  times.  This  opinion^ 
however,  seems  to  depend  on  difference  of  size,  rather  than 
of  form,  and  we  know  that  the  varieties  of  the  horse  differ 
considerably  in  magnitude. 

Ekkehard  in  the  "  Benedictiones  ad  mensas  Ekkehardi 
monachi  Sangellensis  "  mentions  "  fe rales  equi"  as  existing 
in  the  eleventh  century  in  Switzerland.  Lucas  David  also 
(Reuss.  Chronik.  Bd.  II.  s.  121)  alludes  to  the  wild  horse  as 
existing  in  1240  in  Russia.  Even  at  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  Herberstain  expressly  says,  "  Feras 
habet  Lithuania,  praeter  eas,  quse  in  Germania  referuntur, 
bisontes,  uros,  alces,  equos  sy'lvestres/'  etc. 

Perhaps,  however,  these  mediaeval  wild  horses  were  merely 
tame  ones  which  had  escaped  and  bred  in  the  extensive  forests 
of  Central  Europe.  Indeed,  the  history  of  the  horse  in  Europe 
seems  to  have  been  much  the  same  as  in  America.  In  the 
one  country,  as  in  the  other,  wild  horses  were  at  one  time 
frequent,  and  their  remains  are  abundant.  The  Spanish  con- 
querors, however,  found  no  trace  or  tradition  of  the  horse  at 
the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America,  and  so  also  in  the 
Danish  shell-mounds,  and  at  the  earlier  Swiss  lake-villages, 
the  horse  was  either  unknown,  or  at  least  extremely  rare. 
Gradually  it  seems  to  have  become  again  abundant,  both  in  a 
domesticated  and  a  wild  condition ;  until  at  length,  as  popu- 
lation increased,  the  wild  horse  finally  disappeared  in  Europe, 
as  he  seems  destined  ere  long  to  do  in  America*. 

The  Reindeer  still  exists  in  Northern  Europe,  in  Siberia, 
and  in  North  America,  where  it  has  been  found  as  far  north 
as  man  has  yet  penetrated.  Even  so  recently  as  the  time  of 
Pallas  it  might  still  be  met  with  on  the  wooded  summits  of 
the  Oural   Mountains,   as  far  south  as  the  Caucasus.      In 

*  See  for  further  particulars  Brandt,  Zoographische  und  Palaaontolo- 
gische  Beitrage,  p.  176. 


302  THE    REINDEER. 

Western  Europe  it  is  now  an  extinct  species,  though  it  was 
at  one  time  abundant  in  England  and  France,  whence,  how- 
ever, it  is  unnecessary  to  say,  it  has  long  disappeared.  M. 
Lartet  found  no  traces  of  it  in  any  of  the  Spanish  caves 
examined  by  him ;  but  Ponzi  mentions  it,  though  appa- 
rently with  some  little  doubt,  as  occurring  among  the 
animal  remains  collected  by  M.  Regnoli,  at  Cantalupo,  near 
Eome  *. 

At  the  present  day  the  reindeer,  Hke  the  Laplander,  is 
gradually  retiring  northwards,  unable  to  resist  the  pressure 
of  advancing  civilization.  Even  within  the  last  ten  years 
a  few  families  of  Lapps  might  still  be  found  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Nystuen,  on  the  summit  of  the  Fillefjeld,  and 
some  other  places  in  the  south  of  Norway,  but  none  are  now 
to  be  found  on  this  side  of  the  Namsen  river.  The  reindeer, 
in  a  wild  state,  indeed,  even  at  the  present  day,  is  generally 
distributed,  though  in  small  numbers,  over  the  highest  and 
wildest  of  the  Norwegian  fjelds,  protected,  however,  by 
stringent  game  laws,  but  for  which  it  would,  probably,  have 
ere  now  ceased  to  exist. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  species  must  have  been  at  one 
time  very  abundant  in  Great  Britain,  no  fewer  than  1000 
horns  having  been  discovered  by  Col.  Wood  in  some  of  the 
Welsh  caves. 

As  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  present  evidence,  the  first 
appearance  of  the  reindeer  in  Europe  coincided  with  that  of 
the  mammoth,  and  took  place  at  a  later  period  than  that  of 
the  cave-bear  or  Irish  elk.  It  is  generally  found  wherever 
the  mammoth  and  woolly-haired  rhinoceros  occur ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  as  its  remains  are  abundant  in  some  of  the 
bone-caves  in  which  the  gigantic  Pachyderms  are  Vranting,  it 
is  probable  that  it  survived  to  a  still  later  period.     The  rein- 

*  Rapporto  sugli  Studi  e  suUe  Scoperte  Paleoetnologiche  nel  Bacino  della 
Caropagna  Romana,     Roma,  1867. 


THE   REINDEER.  303 

deer  has  not,  however,  been  found  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings 
of  Denmark,  nor  in  any  of  the  tumuli  of  England,  France,  or 
Germany.  It  is  also  wanting  in  the  Swiss  lake-villages, 
although  we  know  that  it  was  at  one  time  an  inhabitant  of 
Switzerland,  bones  of  it  having  been  found  in  a  cave  at 
L'Echelle,  between  the  great  and  little  Saleve,  near  Geneva, 
where  they  were  mixed  with  worked  Jflints,  ashes,  and 
remains  of  the  ox  and  horse. 

As  might  naturally  have  been  expected,  the  reindeer  has 
been  occasionally  met  with  in  the  peat  mosses  of  Sweden,  as 
well  as  in  those  of  Scotland  and  England.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, represented  on  any  of  the  ancient  British  or  Gallic 
coins.  Csesar,  indeed,  mentions  it  as  existing  in  the  great 
Hercynian  forest ;  but  his  description  is  both  imperfect  and 
incorrect.  He  seems  to  have  heard  of  it  only  at  second 
hand,  and  never  to  have  met  with  any  body  who  had  actually 
seen  one.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  ever  been  exhibited  in 
the  Roman  circus. 

Buffon  stated  on  the  authority  of  Gaston,  Comte  de  Foix, 
that  in  his  time  (1331  to  1390)  the  reindeer  still  lived  in 
the  south  of  France.  Cuvier,  however,  by  examining  an 
ancient  manuscript,  sent  by  Gaston  himself  to  Philippe  le 
Hardi,  showed  that,  though  his  expression  is  a  little  ambi- 
guous, he  probably  intended  to  say  exactly  the  reverse,  his 
words  being — 

"  J'en  ay  vou  en  Nourvegne  et  Xuedene  et  en  ha  oultre 
mer,  mes  en  Romain  pays  en  ay  je  peu  veu*." 

Remains  of  the  reindeer  have  been  found  in  Scotland  in 
beds  of  marl  and  till,  and  also,  though  very  »arely,  in  peatf- 
Dr.  Hibbert  J,  Brandt  §,  Dawkins,  J.  A.  Smith,  and  other  good 

*  Rechcrches   but  les  Ossements  Soc.  Ant.  Scot.,  1869,  p.  186. 
Fossiles,  vol.  vi.  p.  125.  X  Edinburgh  Journal  of  Sci.,  1831. 

t  See  Dawkins,  Popular   Science  §  Zoogeogr.  und  Palajoat.  Bcitriige 

Eeview,    Jan.    1868.      Smith,    Proc.  (1867),  pp.  62.  256, 


304 


THE    REINDEER. 


auttoritieSj  consider  that  it  survived  in  the  extreme  north 
down  to  the  twelfth  century;  relying  on  the  statement  of 
Torfaeus,  that  the  Norwegians  used  to  make  incursions  from 
the  Orkneys  into  Caithness  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  rein- 
deer (hreina)  and  other  game*. 

WhilCj  however,  fully  admitting  the  high  authority  of 
Torfseus,  I  cannot  regard  a  casual  statement  of  this  charac- 
ter as  conclusively  deciding  the  question,  and  I  may  add  that 
Dr.  Dasent,  who  is  so  great  an  authority  on  all  questions 
connected  with  Scandinavian  hterature,  is  convinced  that  the 
reindeer  was  extinct  in  Scotland  at  the  period  in  question. 
It  may  also  be  remarked  that  several  attempts  which  have  been 
made  to  introduce  the  reindeer  into  Scotland  have  completely 
failed,  the  animals  dying  without  any  very  apparent  reason, 
while,  on  the  contrary,  in  Iceland  they  have  become  numerous. 
I  admit  that  these  experiments  are  far  from  conclusive ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  Scandinavia  the  deer  are  said  to  be 
larger  in  the  northern  districts  than  in  the  southern,  while 
the  Spitzbergen  specimens  are  the  finest  of  all. 

If  indeed  Torfgeus  had  distinctly  stated  that  the  reindeer 
existed  in  northern  Scotland  during  the  twelfth  century,  the 
state  of  the  case  would  have  been  very  different ;  the  passage 
referred  to,  however,  could  hardly  be  accepted  as  conclusive 
by  itself,  especially  as  long  as  no  traces  of  reindeer  had  been 
found  among  the  ancient  ruins  which  abound  in  that  district. 
On  the  other  hand,  since  the  last  edition  of  this  work  was 
published,  Mr.  J.  A.  Smith  has  carefully  examined  the  horns 
and  bones  found  in  the  ruins  of  the  curious  towers  known  as 
"  Brochs,"  or  "  Burghs,'^  and  has  shotvn  that  some  of  them 
certainly  belonged  to  the  reindeer  f.  Thus  fragments  of  rein- 
deer's horns  have  been  collected  by  Mr.  Joass  among  the 
ruins  of  the  Cill-Trolla  Broch,  on  the  farm  of  Kintradwell, 

*  Rerum  Orcadensium  His.,  i.  36. 

t  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scot.,  1869,  vol.  viii.  p.  186. 


THE   AUROCHS.  305 

near  Brora,  on  the  sea-coast  of  Sutherlandsliire.  Mr.  Smith, 
on  carefully  examining  the  remains  of  deer  obtained  by  Mr. 
Laing  at  Keiss,  in  Caithness,  finds  that  they  do  not  all  belong, 
as  at  first  supposed,  to  the  red  deer,  but  that  some  of  them 
belonged  to  the  reindeer.  Lastly,  remains  of  this  species  have 
been  collected  by  Mr.  Anderson  in  the  ruins  of  the  Yarhouse 
Broch,  in  the  same  county.  It  is  indeed  more  than  probable 
that  in  other  cases  remains  of  the  reindeer  have  been  incor- 
rectly ascribed  to  the  red  deer. 

We  do  not  unfortunately  know  the  date  at  which  these 
Burghs  or  Brochs  were  first  constructed,  but  it  is  on  record 
that  some  of  them  were  in  use  down  to  the  twelfth  century 
(see  ante,  pp.  54,  55). 

It  must  be  admitted  that  these  observations  strongly 
support  the  inference  derived  from  the  statement  of  Torfeeus, 
and  we  have  therefore  now,  not  I  think  conclusive,  but 
still  very  strong  grounds  for  believing  that  the  reindeer 
survived  in  northern  Scotland  down  to  a  comparatively 
recent  period. 

The  glutton  of  Northern  Eui'ope,  which  is  the  wolverine  of 
the  North  American  fur-hunters,  has  been  found  in  three  of  the 
English  bone-caves,  and  is  very  abundant  in  those  of  Belgium. 

The  Aurochs,  or  European  Bison,  appears  to  have  been 
abundant  in  Western  Europe.  It  has  been  found  in  Scot- 
land, England,  France,  Germany,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Poland^ 
and  Italy,  as  well  as  in  Russia.  Its  remains  occur  in  the 
river-drift  gravels,  the  bone-caves,  the  lake-villages  of  Swit- 
zerland, and  in  the  peat-bogs,  though  none  have  yet  been 
found  in  the  shell-mounds  of  Denmark,  nor,  sO  far  as  I  am 
aware,  in  any  of  our  British  peat-bogs  or  tumuli.  M.  Lartet 
thinks  that  it  is  represented  on  a  coin  of  the  Santones,  which 
was  shown  to  him  by  M.  de  Saulcy.  It  is  stated  by  Pliny 
and  Seneca  to  have  existed  in  their  times,  with  the  urus,  in 
the  great  forests  of  Germany.  Though .  not  mentioned  by 
22 


306  THE    URUS. 

Ceesar^  it  is  alluded  to  in  the  Niebelungen  Lied,  and  is  said 
to  have  existed  in  Prussia  down  to  the  year  1775.  Accord- 
ing to  Nordmann  and  Von  Baer,  it  still  survives  in  some 
parts  of  Western  Asia. 

It  is  also  preserved  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia  in  the  im- 
perial forests  of  Lithuania,  where,  however,  its  existence 
seems  to  be  very  precarious.  In  1830  the  herd  numbered 
711  head,  of  which,  during  the  Polish  revolution  in  1831, 
115  were  killed.  From  that  time  they  gradually  increased 
until  1857,  when  the  numbers  were  1898,  but  during  the 
late  Polish  rebellion  they  fell  to  874.  Since  1863  no  num- 
bers have  been  given. 

According  to  Riitimeyer,  than  whom  it  is  impossible  to 
cite  a  greater  authority  on  such  a  question,  our  ancient  bison 
{B.  iniscus)  was  identical  with  the  existing  American  bison. 
Every  stage,  however,  between  the  fossil  form  and  the  exist- 
ing European  aurochs  can  be  traced,  so  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  separate  the  two  specifically,  an  opinion  in  which 
Brandt  also  coincides.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the 
American  form  of  bison  is  the  more  archaic.  We  have  here, 
moreover,  a  clear  case,  in  which  two  now  distinct  species 
are  connected  by  the  evidence  of  fossil  remains. 

The  Urus  or  Bos  primigenius  did  not  extend  its  range  to 
America,  nor,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  have  its  remains  yet 
been  met  with  in  Xorth- Eastern  Asia.  They  occur,  however, 
throughout  Europe,  in  England,  Scotland,  Denmark,  and 
the  South  of  Sweden,  in  France  and  Germany.  Across  the 
Alps  and  Pyrenees,  it  occurs  in  Italy  and  Spain,  and  even, 
according  to  M.  Gervais,  in  Northern  Africa.  In  the  museum 
at  Lund  is  a  skeleton  belonging  to  this  species,  in  which  one 
of  the  vertebrae  still  shows  traces  of  a  wound,  made,  in  the 
opinion  of  Professor  Nilsson,  by  a  flint  arrow.  Bones  of  this 
species  have  also  been  met  with  in  ancient  tumuli,  as  well  as 
in  the  lake-habitations,  and  the  Kjokkenmoddings. 


ELK.       LEMMING.       SNOWY    OWL.  307 

Cfesar  particularly  mentions  the  urus  as  occurring  in  the 
Hercynian  forest ;  it  is  alluded  to  in  the  Niebelungeu  Lied, 
and,  according  to  Herberstain,  it  existed  in  Germany  down 
to  the  sixteenth  century.  In  England  wild  bulls  are  men- 
tioned by  Fitz-Stcphen,  in  his  Life  of  Becket,  as  occurring 
near  London  as  late  as  the  twelfth  century.  It  does  not  sccvn 
certain,  however,  that  these  were  uri.  The  celebrated  wild 
cattle  of  Chillingham,  and  some  of  om*  domestic  breeds,  are 
generally  regarded  by  Palaeontologists  as  being  descended 
from  the  ancient  urus. 

Mr.  Dawkins  is  also  of  opmion  that  Machairodus  latidens, 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  PHocene  carnivora,  sur- 
vived to  post-glacial  times.  It  was  found  by  MacEuery  in 
Kent's  Hole,  but  has  not  been  met  with  in  the  present  exami- 
nation of  that  interesting  cavern.  Nor  has  it  occurred  in  any 
other  of  our  bone-caves  or  river  gravels  with  remains  of 
post-glacial  mammalia.  The  Norway  Elk,  which  is  identical 
with  the  American  moose,  was  also  an  inhabitant  of  this 
country,  but  has  long'  become  extinct  here,  as  indeed 
throughout  Western  Europe.  Even  in  Prussia  it  is  said  that 
there  are  only  about  226  remaining*.  The  lemming  has 
been  discovered  by  Dr.  Blackmore,  in  the  river  gravels  at 
Fisherton,  near  Salisbury;  and  the  lagomys,  or  tailless  hare,  a 
genus  now  confined  to  the  Himalayas,  Siberia,  and  the  colder 
regions  of  North  America,  has  been  identified  by  Prof.  Owen 
among  the  bones  from  Kent's  Cavern,  and  by  Dr.  Falconer 
among  those  from  the  Brixham  Cave.  Another  glacial 
genus,  that  of  the  marmots,  is  represented  by  two  species, 
one  of  them  very  closely  resembling  that  now  hviug  in 
Siberia.  Lastly,  it  may  be  observed  that  remains  of  the 
great  snowy  owl  {Strix  niv'ea)  have  recently  been  discovered 
in  France. 

*  See  Report  from  Her  Majesty's  and  regulations  relating  to  game, 
representatives  abroad,  on-  the  laws       Presented  to  Parliament,  1871. 


308  MOLLUSCA. 

The  river  gravels  contain  also  tliirty-six  species  of  shell- 
fish, of  which  thirty -four  at  present  live  in  Sweden*,  and 
twenty-nine  in  Lombardy.  These  latter,  however,  are  prin- 
cipally species  having  a  very  wide  range,  and  we  shall  see 
still  more  clearly  that  the  leaning  of  the  molluscan  fauna  is 
towards  the  north,  if  we  remember  that  out  of  seventy-seven 
Finland  species,  thirty-one  have  been  found  in  the  upper  level 
gravels,  while  of  193  Lombard  species,  only  twenty-nine  have 
as  yet  occurred. 

Another  very  interesting  point  connected  with  this  quater- 
nary fauna  is  the  manner  in  which  it  connects  together  species 
now  quite  distinct.  Opponents  of  Mr.  Darwin's  theory  often 
ask  with  misplaced  triumph  for  the  links  connecting  any  two 
species.  In  fact,  however,  every  species  is  a  link  between 
other  allied  forms.  Of  course,  indeed,  as  long  as  any  varie- 
ties remain  undescribed  there  will  be  intervals — indicating, 
however,  gaps  in  our  knowledge,  not  in  nature.  More- 
over, it  is  admitted  by  every  one  that  there  are  variable 
species,  that  is  to  say,  species  which  present  two  or  more 
extreme  forms,  with  intermediate  gradations.  Now  we  may 
fairly  ask  those  who  assert  that  no  two  species  are  connected 
by  links,  how  they  would  separate  the  instances  of  variable 
animals  (which  they  admit  to  occur)  from  the  case  which 
they  say  does  not  exist.  If  we  were  to  obtain  to-morrow  all 
the  links  between  any  two  species  which  are  now  considered 
distinct,  no  one  can  deny  that  the  two  would  at  once  be 
united,  and  would  hereafter  appear  in  our  classifications  as 
one  variable  species.  In  fact,  therefore,  they  first  unite  into 
one  species  all  those  forms,  however  different,  between  which 
a  complete  series  is  known,  and  then  argue  in  favour  of  the 
permanence  of  species  because  no  two  of  them  are  united 
by  intermediate  links. 

Moreover^  if  species  were  in  reality  perfectly  distinct  from 
*  Proc.  Eoy.  Soc,  18G2,  p.  44. 


LINKS    BETWEEN    EXISTING    SPECIES.  309 

one  another,  then  it  would  necessarily  follow  that  as  our 
knowledge  of  any  group  increased,  the  separations  between 
the  different  species  would  become  more  and  more  unmis- 
takable. On  the  contrary,  however,  it  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  the  difficult  genera  become  still  more  difficult  as  they 
are  more  profoundly  studied.  If,  indeed,  we  consider  existing 
forms  only,  no  doubt  the  distinctions  between  the  greater 
number  of  species  are  well  marked,  nor  does  any  one  expect 
to  find  a  living  series  of  links  between  them.  The  interme- 
diate forms  lived  in  tertiary  and  quaternary  times.  Thus 
directly  we  commence  to  study  the  extinct  forms,  all  the  con- 
venient lines  of  separation  gradually  thin  out.  For  instance, 
the  larger  species  of  mammalia  are  at  present  in  most  cases 
well  marked,  but  it  becomes  much  more  difficult  satisfactorily 
to  distinguish  them  from  one  another,  when  we  consider  fossil 
specimens  as  well  as  recent  ones.  Thus,  to  take  only  two 
cases  from  the  group  of  quaternary  mammalia,  we  have  seen 
that,  according  to  Riitimeyer,  the  European  and  American 
bisons,  which  are  now  quite  distinct,  are  connected  by  the 
Bison  priscus,  while  between  our  brown  bear  and  the  grizzly 
bear  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  a  series  of  links  has  been 
discovered  among  the  abundant  remains  in  our  bone-caves. 

Great  as  is  the  interest  attaching  to  the  existence  of  man 
at  a  period  so  much  more  ancient  than  that  hitherto  assigned 
to  him,  there  is  something  which,  to  many  minds,  will  appear 
even  more  fascinating  in  the  presence  of  such  a  fauna  as  that 
which  I  have  thus  briefly  indicated.  For  it  must  be  regarded 
as  a  well-ascertained  fact,  that,  even  during  the  human 
period,  the  pleasant  and  sunny  valleys  of  England  and 
of  France  have  been  inhabited  by  the  gigantic  Irish  elk,  two 
species  of  elephant,  and  three  of  rhinoceros,  together  with 
the  reindeer,  a  large  bear  closely  resembling  the  grizzly  bear 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  a .  bison  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  that  of  the  American  Prairies,  the  musk  ox  of  Arctic 


310  CLIMATE    or    THE    QUATERNARY    PERIOD. 

America,  the  lemming  of  the  Siberian  Steppes,  the  lion  of 
the  Tropics,  the  hytena  of  the  Cape,  and  a  hippopotamus 
closely  resembling  that  of  the  great  African  rivers. 

Influenced  mainly  by  the  presence  of  the  great  pachy- 
derms, and  particularly  by  that  of  the  Hippopotamus,  M. 
d'Archiac  is  disposed  to  consider  that  the  climate  of  the 
quaternary  period  was  warmer  than  ours  *,  while  M.  Lartet  f 
suggests  that  we  may  have  had  a  climate  like  that  of  Chili, 
where,  as  Mr.  Darwin  has  pointed  out,  glaciers  actually  come 
down  to  the  sea-level  in  latitudes  corresponding  with  that  of 
our  south  coast,  and  the  northern  provinces  of  France. 

In  other  respects,  however,  the  fauna  of  the  quaternary 
deposits  indicates  a  more  severe  climate.  The  presence  of 
the  reindeer  and  musk  ox,  the  lemming  and  the  marmot, 
corroborated  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter  by  physical 
evidence,  leave  little  doubt  on  this  subject.  Moreover,  we 
must  remember  that  the  tichorhine  rhinoceros  and  the  mam- 
moth were  not  only  well  provided  against  cold,  but  in  some 
cases  T/ere  enveloped  in  the  ice  and  frozen  mud  of  the 
Siberian  rivers  so  soon  after  death  that  the  flesh  had  not  had 
time  to  decay.  Much  weight  is  also  to  be  attributed,  I 
think,  to  the  smaller  quadrupeds,  as,  for  instance,  the  lem- 
ming and  lagomys. 

Yet  I  feel  strongly  that  some  of  the  species,  and  particu- 
larly the  hippopotamus,  point  to  a  warmer  climate.  Even  if 
protected  by  fur,  as  Mr.  Prestwich  supposes,  the  animal  could 
never  live  in  a  country  where  the  rivers  were  frozen  every 
winter.  To  meet  this  difficulty  a  suggestion  has  been  thrown 
out  that  it  may  have  made  annual  migrations.  In  the  Gulf 
of  Penas,  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  lat.  47°  S., 
!Mr.  Darwin  has  pointed  out  that  glaciers  now  "  descend  to 
the  sea  within  less  than  nine  degrees  of  latitude  from  where 

*  LeconssurlaFauneQuaternaire,  f  Lartet,  Ann.  des  Sc.  Nat.,  1867, 

pp.  15,  16.  p.  37. 


PROBABLE    FLUCTUATIONS    OF   CLIMATE.  311 

paims  grow,  less  than  two  and  a  half  from  arborescent 
grasses,  less  than  two  from  orchideous  parasites,  and  within 
a  single  degree  of  tree-ferns*/'  The  reindeer  in  America 
makes,  we  know,  very  extensive  annual  migrations,  but  a 
heavy  animal  like  the  hippopotamus  would  hardly  do  so.  I 
am,  therefore,  rather  disposed  to  believe  that  the  presence  of 
the  hippopotamus,  the  E.  antiquus,  and  R.  leptorhinus,  indi- 
cates that  the  climate  of  the  quaternary  period  was  not 
uniformly  severe,  but  contained  at  least  one  interval  of 
exceptional  mildness. 

It  is  remarkable  also  that  the  late  M.  Morlot,  well  known 
as  an  excellent  and  careful  observer,  considered  it  to  be  certain 
that,  in  Switzerland,  there  were  two  periods  of  great  exten- 
sion of  the  glaciers,  separated  by  an  epoch  of  comparative 
warmth. 

We  shall  also  see  presently  that  if  the  cold  of  the  glacial 
epoch  was  due  to  the  astronomical  causes  pointed  out  by  Mr. 
Adhemar  and  Mr.  Croll,  the  period  of  extreme  cold  must 
have  been  followed  by  one  of  unusual  warmth,  or  rather 
there  must  have  been  several  oscillations  of  climate  from 
unusual  heat  to  extreme  cold. 

I  am  disposed  then,  on  the  whole,  to  consider  that  the 
quaternary  fauna  consists  of  two  distinct  groups,  belonging 
to  different  periods  and  to  two  different  conditions  of  climate, 
one  warmer  than  the  present,  the  other  colder.  The  whole 
subject,  however,  while  it  is  of  great  interest,  is  also  of 
extreme  difficulty.  On  many  points  we  must  be  contented  to 
suspend  our  judgment,  but  we  may  at  least  regard  it  as 
proved  that,  since  the  appearance  of  man,  there  have  been 
great  changes  in  the  fauna  of  Western  Europe,  which  then 
contained  several  important  species,  either  now  altogether 
extinct  or  existing  only  in  distant  parts  of  the  world. 

*  Eesearches  in  Geology  and  Natural  History,  p.  285. 


312 


CHAPTER  X. 


CAVE  MEN. 


IT  would  he  quite  impossible,,  witliin  tlie  limits  of  a  single 
chapter^  to  describe  all  tlie  caves  in  wliicli  human 
remains  have  been  founds  in  association  with^  and  apparently 
belonging  to  the  same  period  as,  those  of  the  extinct  mam- 
malia. I  will  only  call  attention  to  a  few  of  those  which 
have  been  most  thoroughly  examined,  and  in  which  the  con- 
clusions appear  to  be  satisfactorily  established. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  observe  that  a  great  number  of  caves 
present  evidence  of  having  been  inhabited  during  times  long 
subsequent  to  those  which  we  are  now  considering;  but  for 
the  Neolithic  Age,  as  well  as  for  all  later  periods,  we  have, 
as  has  been  already  mentioned,  other  sources  of  information, 
and  more  satisfactory  evidence  than  any  which  can  be  derived 
from  the  examination  of  caves. 

Some  writers,  indeed,  have  gone  so  far  as  to  question 
altogether  the  value  of  what  may  be  called  cave-evidence. 
They  have  suggested  that  the  bones  of  extinct  animals  may 
have  lain  in  the  caves  for  ages  before  the  appearance  of  man; 
that  the  relics  of  the  human  period  may  have  been  introduced 
subsequently;  and  that  remains  belonging  to  very  different 
periods  may  have  been  mixed  together.  This  was,  for  instance, 
the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  M.  Desnoyers,  even  so  recently 
as  the  year  1845,  in  his  article  on  Bone-caves*.     Unless  this 

*  Eecherclies  Geologiques  et  His-       ments.  DictionnaireUniversel  d'His- 
toriqaes   sur  les  Cavernes,  particu-       toire  Naturelle. 
lierement  but  les  cavernes  a  osse- 


CAVES  IN  THE  SOUTH  OP  FRANCE.  313 

argument  admitted  of  a  satisfactory  answer^  it  must  be  cou- 
ceded  that  the  evidence  derivable  from  cave  contents  would 
always  be  liable  to  grave  suspicion.  I  trust,  however,  to  be 
able  to  show  that  this  is  not  the  case. 

Already,  in  the  year  1828,  MM.  Toumal  and  Christol  in 
the  south  of  France  had  found  fragments  of  pottery  and 
human  bones  and  teeth,  intermingled  with  remains  of  extinct 
animals;  and  M.  Tournal  distinctly  expressed- the  opinion 
that  these  had  certainly  not  been  washed  in  by  any  dduvial 
catastrophe,  but  must  have  been  introduced  gradually.  The 
presence  of  pottery,  however,  throws  much  doubt  on  the  sup- 
posed antiquity  of  these  remains. 

A  few  years  later,  in  1833  and  1834,  Dr.  Schmerling* 
published  an  account  of  his  researches  in  some  caves  near 
Liege  in  Belgium.  In  four  or  five  of  these  he  found  human 
bones,  and  in  all  of  them  rude  implements,  principally  flint 
flakes,  were  discovered,  scattered  in  such  a  manner  among 
the  remains  of  the  mammoth,  Rliinoccros  tichorhimis,  cave- 
hygena,  and  cavc-bcar,  that  Dr.  Schmerling  referred  them  to 
the  same  period.  One  feels  a  natural  surprise  that  such 
animals  as  these  should  ever  have  been  natives  of  England 
and  France,  ever  have  wandered  about  among  our  woods  or 
along  our  streams ;  but  when  it  was  also  suggested  that  they 
were  contemporary  with  man,  surprise  was  succeeded  by 
incredulity.  Yet  these  cave-researches  appear  to  have  been 
conducted  with  care,  and  the  principal  results  have  been 
confirmed  by  more  recent  discoveries. 

The  hesitation,  however,  with  which  the  statements  of 
Dr.  Schmerling  were  received  by  scientific  men  arose,  no 
doubt,  partly  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  fossil  remains 
discovered  by  him  were  certainly  referred  to  wrong  species, 
and  partly  because,  with  reference  to  several  of  the  extinct 

*  Recherches  sur  les  Ossements  do  la  Province  de  Liege.  Par  le  Dr. 
Fos3iles  decouverta  dans  lea  Cavernea       P.  C.  Schmerling. 


314 


BELGIAN  CAVES. 


species,  and  especially  to  the  mammotli,  lie  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  remains  had  been  brought  from  a  distance^ 
and  had  very  likely  been  washed  out  of  some  earlier  bed. 
"Nous  n^hesitons  point/^  he  says,  "a  exprimer  ici  notre 
pensee,  c'est  que  nous  doutons  fort  que  I'elephant,  lors  de 
Fepoque  du  remplissage  de  nos  cavei'nes,  habitat  nos  con- 
trees.  Au  contraire,  nous  croyons  plutot  que  ces  restes  out 
ete  amenes  de  loin,  ou  bien  que  ces  debris  ont  ete  deplaces 
d^un  terrain  plus  ancien  et  ont  ete  entraines  dans  les 
cav  ernes." 

Even,  therefore,  though  Dr.  Schmerling  might  be  quite 
right  in  his  conclusion  that  the  human  remains  had  been 
''  enfouis  dans  ces  cavernes  a  la  meme  epoque,  et  par  conse- 
quent par  les  memes  causes  qui  y  ont  entraine  une  masse 
d'ossements  de  diflferentes  especes  eteintes,"  still  it  would  not 
necessarily  follow  that  man  had  lived  at  the  same  period  as 
these  extinct  species. 

Careful  explorations  of  the  Belgian  caves  have  recently 
been  carried  on  under  the  auspices  of  the  Government  by 
M.  E.  Dupont*.  These  caverns  belong  principally  to  the 
so-called  Eeindeer  period,  and  the  flint  implements  are  never 
ground.  Thus  out  of  30,000  worked  flints  found  in  the 
cavern  of  Chaleux,  and  1200  in  those  of  Furfooz,  not  one 
presents  a  trace  of  polish.  Some  of  these  flint  flakes,  etc., 
appear  to  consist  of  Pressigny  flint,  and  in  the  opinion  of 
Dr.  Dupont,  as  well  as  of  M.  de  Mortillet,  must  have  come 
from  that  distant  locality.  In  this  cavern  the  humerus  of  an 
elephant  was  discovered,  but  in  M.  Dupont^s  opinion,  founded 
on  the  state  of  the  bone,  it  belonged  to  an  earlier  period  than 
the  other  remains.  Human  bones  have  been  found  in  several 
of  these  caverns.  The  Trou  du  Frontal  contained  bones 
belonging  to  no  less  than  thirteen  individuals.     They  had 

*  Notices    Preliminaires   sur  les       du  Gouvernement   Beige    dans    les  ' 
Foiiilles  executees  sous  les  Auspices       Cavernes  de  la  Belgique.     1867. 


KENT  S   HOLE. 


315 


probably  been  buried  in  the  cave,  the  door  of  which  seemed 
to  have  been  purposely  closed  by  a  large  block  of  stone. 
When  discovered  they  were  in  great  confusion,  having  in  the 
opinion  of  IMIM.  Dupont  and  Van  Beneden  been  disturbed 
and  rearranged  by  water.  The  form  of  the  cavern,  and  the 
fact  that  the  opening  was  in  great  measure  closed  by  the 
above-mentioned  stone,  seem  to  me  to  speak  strongly  against 
this  suggestion,  and  I  should  rather  regard  the  disturbance 
of  the  bones  as  due  to  foxes  and  badgers.  The  Trou  do  la 
Naulette  contained  a  very  remarkable  lower  jaw,  of  which 
M.  Dupont  says  that  "regardee  dans  la  face  interne,  elle  offre 
une  telle  proclivite  d'arriere  en  avant  de  la  partie  symphy- 
saire  qu'on  est  porte  a  y  voir  un  prognatisme  tout  animal. 
Les  apophyses  geni  ne  sont  pas  indiquees;  les  fossettes 
laterales  sont  tres-prononcees  et  le  rebord  mentonnier  est 
reduit  a  son  minimum.  Les  alveoles  des  canines,  bien  que 
tro.s-rapprochecs  des  alveoles  des  incisives,  et  les  molaires, 
nous  rappellent  la  disposition  qu^on  observe  sur  la  machoire 
du  singe.  En  effet,  I'alveole  qui  logeait  la  canine  est  fort 
vaste  et  bombee  h,  la  face  externe.  Ce  qui  semble  plus 
etr^uge  encore,  c'est  que  les  trois  alveoles  des  grosses  molaires 
presentent  absolument  Tordi-e  typiquc  du  maxillaire  simian 
par  Faugmentation  progressive  des  alveoles  de  la  premiere  a 
la  deuxieme  et  h  la  troisieme  molaire." 

The  celebrated  cavern  of  Kent's  Hole,  near  Torquay,  was 
examined  by  Mr.  MacEnery  as  long  ago  as  1825.  He  did 
not,  however,  publish  his  notes  on  the  subject,  and  they 
remained  in  manuscript  until  1859,  when  Mr.  Vivian  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  them.  Mr.  MacEnery  found  human 
bones,  flint  flakes,  etc.,  but  all  either  on  the  surface  or  in 
disturbed  soil,  so  that  on  the  whole  he  regarded  them, 
though  apparently  with  much  doubt,  as  posterior  to  the 
remains  of  the  cave-bear,  hyaena,  etc. 

In  the  year  1840  Mr.  Godwin- Austen  communicated  to 


316  Kent's  hole. 

the  Geological  Society  a  memoir  on  tlie  Geology  of  the  South 
Bast  of  Devonshire*^  and  in  his  description  of  Kent^s  Hole, 
he  says  that  "human  remains  and  works  of  art,  such  as 
arrow-heads  and  knives  of  flint,  occur  in  all  parts  of  the  cave, 
and  throughout  the  entire  thickness  of  the  clay :  and  no 
distinction  founded  on  condition,  distribution,  or  relative 
position,  can  be  observed,  whereby  the  human  can  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  other  reliquiae,"  which  included  bones  of  the 
"elephant,  rhinoceros,  ox,  deer,  horse,  bear,  hyeeua^  and 
a  feline  animal  of  large  size/^  The  value,  he  truly  adds,  "  of 
such  a  statement  must  rest  on  the  care  with  which  a  collec- 
tor may  have  explored.  I  must  therefore  state  that  my  own 
researches  were  constantly  conducted  in  parts  of  the  cave 
which  had  never  been  disturbed,  and  in  every  instance  the 
bones  were  procured  from  beneath  a  thick  covering  of  stalag- 
mite ;  so  far,  then,  the  bones  and  works  of  man  must  have 
been  introduced  into  the  cave  before  the  flooring  of  stal^ig- 
mite  had  been  formed.''^  Notwithstanding  the  high  authority  of 
Mr.  Godwin- Austen,  these  statements  attracted  little  attention ; 
and  the  very  similar  assertions  made  by  Mr.  Vivian,  in  a  paper 
read  befo*re  the  Geological  Society,  were  considered  so  impro- 
bable that  the  memoir  containing  them  was  not  published. 

They  have,  however,  been  completely  confirmed  by  the 
systematic  examination  which  is  now  being  carried  on  by  the 
British  Association.  Worked  flints  are  less  abundant  in 
the  lower  layers  than  near  the  surface,  but  several  have  been 
discovered  under  circumstances  which  leave  no  doubt  that 
they  were  deposited  at  the  same  time  as  the  bones  of  the 
large  mammalia.  The  researches  are  carried  on  by  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  Sir  C.  Lyell,  Mr.  Busk,  Mr.  Evans, 
Prof.  Phillips,  Mr.  Vivian,  Mr.  Pengelly,  and  myself,  and 
the  work  is  under  the  more  immediate  superintendence  of 
Mr.  Pengelly  and  Mr.  Vivian. 

*  Transactions  of  the  Geol.  Soc,  Ser.  2,  vol.  vi.  p.  433. 


BEIXHAM    CAVE.  317 

In  May,  1858,  Dr.  Falconer  called  the  attention  of  the 
Geological  Society  to  a  newly-discovered  cave  at  Brixham, 
near  Torquay,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  assist  him 
in  examining  it.  Grants  of  money  were  obtained  for  the 
same  object  from  the  Royal  Society  and  Miss  Burdett  Coutts. 
In  addition  to  Dr.  Falconer,  Mr.  Pengelly,  Mr.  Prestwich, 
and  Pi'ofessor  Ramsay  were  entrusted  \vith  the  investigations. 
In  September,  1858,  a  preliminary  report  was  made  to  the 
Geological  Society,  but  it  is  very  much  to  be  regretted  that 
the  results  have  not  yet  been  pubHshcd  in  extenso. 

The  deposits  in  the  cave  were,  in  descending  order — 

1.  Stalagmite  of  irregular  thickness. 

2.  Ochreous  cave-earth  with  limestone  breccia. 

3.  Ochreous  cave-earth  with  comminuted  shale. 

4.  Rounded  gravel. 

The  organic  remains  belonged  chiefly  to  the  following  species : 

1 .  Elejyhas  primigenius. 

2.  Bhinoceros  tichorkinus.  Teeth  in  considerable  numbers 

and  an  astragalus. 

3.  Bos  sp.     Teeth,  jaws,  and  other  bones. 

4.  Equus  sp.     A  few  remains. 

5.  Cerviis  tarandus.     The  reindeer — skull  and  horns. 

6.  Cervus  eJaphus.     Horns. 

7.  G.  capreolus. 

8.  JJrsus  spelceus — the  cave-bear.  Lower  jaws,  teeth,  etc. 

9.  U.ferotc. 

10.  U.  arctos. 

11.  Ilijcena  spelcea.      Lower  jaws,  teeth,   fragments  of 

skulls,  and  other  bones. 

12.  F(iu  spelcea. 

13.  Lagomys. 

Several  flint  flakes  were  also  found  indiscriminately  mixed 
with  these  bones,  and,  according  to  all  appearance,  of  the 


318  SICILIAN   CAVES. 

same  antiquity.  They  occurred  at  various  depths,  from  teu 
inches  to  eleven  feet,  and  some  of  them  were  in  the  gravel, 
below  the  whole  of  the  ochreous  cave-earth. 

Again,  in  the  grotto  of  Maccagnoue,  in  Sicily,  Dr.  Falconer 
found  human  traces,  consisting  of  ashes  and  rude  flmt  imple- 
ments, in  a  breccia  containing  bones  of  the  Elephas  antiquus, 
of  the  hyaena,  of  a  large  TIrsus,  of  a  Felis  (probably  F.  spelcea), 
and  especially  with  large  numbers  of  bones  belonging  to  the 
hippopotamus.  The  "  ceneri  impastati,"  or  concrete  of  ashes, 
had  at  one  time  filled  the  cavern,  and  a  large  piece  of  bone 
breccia  was  still  cemented  to  the  roof,  but  owing  to  some 
change  in  the  drainage,  the  greater  part  had  been  washed  out 
again.  The  presence  of  the  hippopotamus  sufficiently  proves 
that  the  geographical  conditions  of  the'  country  must  have 
been  very  different  from  what  they  are  now ;  but  I  cannot 
do  better  than  quote  Dr.  Falconer's  own  summary  of  his 
observations  in  this  case  : 

"  The  vast  number  of  Hippopotami  implied  that  the  phy- 
sical condition  of  the  country  must  have  been  greatly  different, 
at  no  very  distant  geological  period,  from  what  obtains  now. 
He  considered  that  all  deposits  ahove  the  bone  breccia  had 
been  accumulated  up  to  the  roof  by  materials  washed  in  from 
above,  through  sinuous  crevices  or  flues  in  the  limestone,  and 
that  the  uppermost  layer,  consisting  of  the  breccia  of  shells, 
bone-splmters,  siliceous  objects,  burnt  clay,  bits  of  charcoal, 
and  hyaena  coprolites,  had  been  cemented  to  the  roof  by 
stalagmitic  infiltration.  The  entire  condition  of  the  large 
fragile  Helices  proved  that  the  effect  had  been  produced  by 
the  tranquil  agency  of  water,  as  distinct  from  any  tumultuous 
action.  There  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  the  difierent 
objects  in  the  roof  breccia  ivere  oilier  than  of  contemporaneous 
origin :  subsequently  a  great  physical  alteration  in  the  con- 
tour, altering  the  flow  of  superficial  water  and  of  the  subter- 
ranean springs,  changed  all  the  conditions  previously  existing. 


GIBRALTAR   CAVES.  319 

and  emptied  out  the  whole  of  the  loose  incoherent  contents, 
leaving  only  the  portions  agglutinated  to  the  roof.  The 
wreck  of  these  ejecta  was  visible  in  the  patches  of '  ceneri 
impastati,'  containing  fossil  bones,  below  the  mouth  of  the 
cavern.  That  a  long  period  must  have  operated  in  the 
extinction  of  the  hyjcna,  cave-lion,  and  other  fossil  species 
is  certain,  but  no  index  remains  for  its  measurement.  The 
author  would  call  the  careful  attention  of  cautious  geologists 
to  the  inferences — that  the  Maccagnone  Cave  was  filled  up 
to  the  roof  within  the  human  period,  so  that  a  thick  layer 
of  bone  splinters,  teeth,  landshells,  hyasnas'  coprolites,  and 
human  objects,  was  agglutinated  to  the  roof  by  the  infiltra- 
tion of  water  holding  lime  in  solution.  That  subsequently, 
and  within  the  human  period,  such  a  great  amount  of  change 
took  place  in  the  physical  configuration  of  the  district  as  to 
have  caused  the  cave  to  be  washed  out  and  emptied  of  its 
contents,  excepting  the  patches  of  material  cemented  to  the 
roof  and  since  coated  with  additional  stalagmite." 

Similar  proofs  of  great  and  recent  geographical  changes 
have  been  afforded  by  the  examination  of  certain  Spanish 
caves.  The  rock  of  Gibraltar  abounds  in  caverns  containing 
human  remains,  with  stone,  bone,  and  bronze  implements, 
mixed  with  those  of  domesticated  animals,  such  as  the  goat 
and  ox.  In  the  bone  breccia  from  the  Genista  Cave  and 
fissure,  Mr.  Busk  and  Dr.  Falconer  have  discovered  Hycena 
crocuta,  an  existing  African  species,  the  leopard,  lynx,  serval, 
and  Barbary  stag,  together  with  Rh.  hemitcechus  and  a  species 
of  ibex.  But,  although  it  is  more  than  probable,  it  does  not 
appear  to  be  proved,  that  man  co-existed  with  these  animals 
on  the  rock  of  Gibraltar.  Among  some  bones  found  in 
another  cave  near  Madrid,  M.  Lartet  has  discovered  molars 
of  the  existing  African  elephant. 

M.  Lartet*  has  also  described  with  his  usual  ability  an 
*  Ann.  des  Sc.  Nat.,  1861,  p.  177. 


320 


AUEIGNAC. 


interesting  grotto,  or  small  cave_,  whicli  was  discovered  some 
years  ago  at  Aurignac_,  in  the  south  of  France.  A  peasant 
named  Bonuemaison,  seeing  a  rabbit  run  into  a  bole  on  a 
steep  slope,  put  liis  hand  in,  and  to  his  surprise  pulled  out  a 
human  bone.  Curiosity  urged  him  to  explore  farther,  and 
on  removing  a  quantity  of  rubbish,  he  found  a  large  block 
of  stone,  which  almost  closed  up  the  entrance  to  a  small 
chamber,  in  which  were  no  less  than  seventeen  human 
skeletons.  Unfortunately  for  science,  the  mayor  of  Au- 
rignac,  hearing  of  these  discoveries,  collected  the  human 
bones,  had  them  reburied,  and  when  M.  Lartet  some  years 
afterwards  exj)lored  the  cavern,  they  could  not  be  found 
again. 

After  carefully  examining  the  locality,  M.  Lartet  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  this  small  cavern  had  been  used  as  a 
burial  place,  and  from  the  remains  of  bones  broken  for 
marrow,  and  marks  of  fire  immediately  outside  the  cave,  he 
inferred  that  funeral  feasts  had  been  held  there. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  species  determined  by  M. 
Lartet,  together  with  the  approximate  number  of  individuals 
belonging  to  each  : — 


Number  of  individuals. 


1.  Cave  Bear  [TJrsus  spelcBiis) 

2.  Brown  Bear  [JJ.  ardos?)   . 

3.  Badger  [Meles  taxus)    .     . 

4.  Polecat  {Putorius  vulgaris) 

5.  Cave  Lion  {Felis  spelcea)   . 

6.  Wild  Cat  {F.  catus)       .     . 

7.  Hysena  {Hycena  sjoelcea)     . 
'  8.  Wolf  {Ganis  Lupus)      .     . 

9.  Fox  (0.  vulpes)    .... 

10.  Mammoth  {Elephas  primigenius) . 

Two  molars  and  an  astragalus. 

11.  Ehinoceros  [Bhinoceros  tichorhinus) 


5—  6 
1 

1—  2 
1 
1 
1 

5—  6 
3 
18—20 


AURIGNAC.         •  321 

12.  Horse  [Equus  cahallus) 12 — 15 

13.  Ass*?  {E.  dsinus) 1 

14.  Boar  {Sus  scrofa).     Two  iucisors. 

15.  Stag  {Ccrvus  efaphus) 1 

16.  Irish  Elk  [Megaccros  hibcrnicus)       .     .     1 

17.  Roe  {C.  capreolus) 3 — 4 

18.  Reindeer  (0.  tarandus) 10 — 12 

19.  Aurochs  {Bison  Eiiropceus)     ....  12 — 15 

Some  of  these  were  found  in  the  grotto,  others  outside ;  the 
latter  had  been  gnawed  by  some  large  carnivorous  animal,  no 
doubt  the  hjeeua,  coprolites  of  which  were  found  among  the 
ashes.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bones  inside  the  cave  were 
untouched,  from  which  M.  Lartet  concludes  that  after  the 
funeral  feasts,  hyaenas  came  and  devoured  all  that  had  been 
left  by  the  men,  but  that  they  could  not  effect  an  entrance 
into  the  cave  on  account  of  the  large  block  of  stone  by  which 
the  entrance  was  closed,  and  which  was  actually  found  in  its 
place  by  Bonnemaison. 

In  addition  to  the  hysena,  the  animals  occurring  in  this 
list,  and  yet  no  longer  existing,  or  known  historically  to  have 
existed  in  France,  are  the  reindeer,  cave-bear,  rhinoceros, 
cave-lion,  Irish  elk,  and  mammoth.  The  contemporaneity 
of  the  reindeer  with  man  is  very  evident ;  all  the  bones  are 
broken  for  marrow,  and  many  bear  the  marks  of  knives, 
besides  which,  the  greater  number  of  the  bone  implements 
are  made  out.  of  the  bones  or  horns  of  this  species.  That  the 
rhinoceros  also  was  contemporaneous  with  man  is  inferred 
by  M.  Lartet,  firstly,  on  chemical^rounds,  the  bones  of  this 
species,  as  well  as  those  of  the  reindeer,  aurochs,  etc.,  having 
retJfeincd  the  same  amount  of  nitrogen  as  the  human  bones 
from  the  same  locality ;   and  secondly,  because  the  bones 

• 
*  This  is,  I  presume,  a  small  variety  of  horse,  and  not  the  true  Ass.     The 
query  is  in  the  original. 

23 


322  AURIGNAC. 

appear  to  have  been  broken  by  man^  and  in  some  cases  are 
marked  by  knives.  Moreover,  he  lias  ingeniously  pointed 
out  that  these  bones  must  have  belonged  to  an  individual 
recently  killed,  because,  after  having  been  broken  by  maii, 
they  were  gnawed  by  the  hyeenas,  which  would  not  have 
been  the  case  if  they  had  not  been  fresh  and  still  full  of 
their  natural  juices. 

The  elephant  was  represented  only  by  some  detached 
plates  of  molars  and  a  calcaneum.  This  latter  was  the  only 
gnawed  bone  found  in  the  interior  of  the  grotto.  He  is  of 
opinion  that  these  plates  were  pnrposely  separated,  and  the 
calcaneum  appears  to  have  been  placed  in  the  vault  at  the 
time  of  the  last  interments ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  it 
was  then  in  a  fresh  condition.  Indeed,  the  fact  of  its  being 
gnawed  seems  rather  to  point  the  other  way. 

Remains  of  the  Ursus  spelceus  (cave-bear)  were  much  more 
abundant,  and  some  of  them  were  found  in  the  grotto.  In 
one  case  a  whole  limb  appears  to  have  been  buried  with  the 
flesh  on,  as  the  different  bones  were  all  found  together.  It 
is  well  known  that  food  and  drink  were  in  ancient  times  fre- 
quently buried  with  the  dead,  and  M.  Lartet  thinks  that  we 
may  account  in  this  manner  for  the  bones  of  quadrupeds 
found  in  the  grotto  at  Aurignac. 

I  have  given  the  particulars  of  this  case  at  length,  because,  if 
the  evidence  was  well-established,  we  should  here  have  an  in- 
stance of  a  sepulture  belonging  to  the  period  at  which  the  cave- 
bear,  the  reindeer,  the  Irish  elk,  the  woolly-haired  rhinoceros, 
and  probably  the  mammo^,  still  lived  in  the  south  of  France. 
It  is,  however,  much  to  be  regretted  that  M.  Lartet  was  not 
present  when  the  place  was  J&rst  examined ;  and,  under  all 
the  circumstances,  we  cannot,  I  think,  feel  satisfied  that  the 
human  remains  found  in  this  cave  were  certainly  coeval  with 
those  of  the  extinct  mammalia. 

Another  remarkable  case  is  that  of  the  Hyaena-den  at 


WOKEY    HOLE.  323 

Wokcy  Hole,  near  Wells,  wliicli  lias  been  ably  explored  and 
described  by  Mr.  Boyd  Dawkins  *,  In  this  instance  the  cave 
was  filled  with  debris  up  to  the  very  roof,  and  it  appears  that 
the  accumulation  of  material  was  partly  due  to  the  disinte- 
gration of  the  dolomitic  conglomerate  forming  the  roof  and 
walls  of  the  cavern,  and  partly  to  the  sediment  washed  in 
gradually  by  rain  and  small  streams.  It  is  evident  that  the 
bones  and  stones  were  not  brought  into  the  cave  by  the 
action  of  water;  firstly,  because  none  of  the  bones  are  at  all 
rolled;  secondly,  because,  though  several  rude  flint  imple- 
ments were  found  in  the  cave,  only  one  single  unworJced  flint 
was  met  with ;  and  thirdly,  because,  in  some  cases,  fragments 
of  the  same  bone  have  been  found  close  together,  while,  if 
they  had  been  brought  from  a  distance,  it  is  almost  incredible 
that  they  should  have  been  again  deposited  close  to  One 
another.  Again,  there  are  several  layers — one  over  the  other 
— of  album  grjecum,  that  is  to  say,  the  excrement  of  hyaenas, 
each  of  which  indicates,  of  course,  an  old  floor,  and  a  separate 
period  of  occupation ;  so  that  the  presence  of,  at  least,  one 
such  floor  above  some  of  the  flint  implements,  proves  tAvo 
things ;  firstly,  that  the  hyjBnas  which  produced  the  album 
graecum  occupied  the  cave  after  the  savages  who  used  the 
flint  instruments ;  and,  secondly,  that  these  implements 
have  not  been  disturbed  by  water  since  the  period  of  the 
hyaena. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Christy,  whose  death 
has  been  so  great  a  loss  to  science,  examined,  in  conjunction 
with  M.  Lartet,  with  great  care  a  number  of  small  caves  and 
rock-shelters  in  the  Dordogne,  some  of  which  had  already 
attracted  the  attention  of  archgeologistsf.  These  caves  are 
particularly  interesting,  because,  so  far,  at  least,  as  we  can 
judge  from  the  present  state  of  the  evidence,  the  remains 

*  Gcol.  Jouraal,  May,  1862,  p.ll5.        Arts  en  Perigord.      Par  M.  I'Abbe 
+  Dc  rOrigine  ct  do  I'Enfance  des       Audieme. 


324  CAVES   IN   THE    DOEDOGNE. 

found  in  tliem  belong  to  M,  Lartet's  reindeer  period,  and 
tend,  therefore,  to  connect  the  later  Stone  or  Neolithic  Age 
with  the  period  of  the  river-drifts  and  the  great  extinct 
mammalia;  representing  a  period  about  which  we  had  pre- 
viously very  little  information.  Those  which  have  been  most 
carefully  examined  are  ten  in  number,  viz.  Laugerie,  La 
Madelaine,  Les  Eyzies,  La  Gorge  d'Enfer,  Le  Moustier, 
Liveyre,  Pey  de  I'Aze,  Combe- Granal,  and  Badegoule,  most 
of  which  I  have  myself  had  the  advantage  of  visiting.  Some 
of  these,  as,  for  instance,  Les  Eyzies  and  Le  Moustier,  are  at 
a  considerable  height  above  the  stream,  but  others — as  those 
at  La  Madelaine  and  Laugerie — are  little  above  the  present 
flood-line,  showing,  therefore,  that  the  level  of  the  river  is 
now  nearly  the  same  as  it  was  at  the  period  during  which 
these  caves  were  inhabited. 

The  rivers  of  the  Dordogne  run  in  deep  valleys  cut  through 
calcareous  strata ;  and  while  the  sides  of  the  valleys  in  chalk 
districts  are  generally  sloping,  in  this  case,  owing  probably 
to  the  hardness  of  the  rock,  they  are  frequently  vertical. 
Small  caves  and  grottoes  frequently  occur;  besides  which, 
as  the  different  strata  possess  unequal  power  of  resistance 
against  atmiospheric  influences,  the  face  of  the  rock  is,  as  it 
were,  scooped  out  in  many  places,  and  thus  ''  rock-shelters  " 
are  produced.  In  very  ancient  times  these  caves  and  rock- 
shelters  were  inhabited  by  men,  who  have  left  behind  them 
abundant  evidences  of  their  presence.  But  as  civilization 
advanced,  Man,  no  longer  content  with  the  natural  but  in- 
convenient abode  thus  offered  to  him,  excavated  chambers. 
for  himself,  and  in  places  the  whole  face  of  the  rock  is  honey- 
combed with  doors  and  windows  leading  into  suites  of  rooms.  • 
often  in  tiers  one  over  another,  so  as  to  suggest  the  idea  of  a 
French  Petra.  Down  to  a  comparatively  recent  period,  as,  for 
instance,  in  the  troublous  times  of  the  Middle  Ages,  many  of 
these,  no  doubt,  served  as  very  eJG&cient  fortifications,  and  even 


FAUNA  OP  THE   DORDOGNE   CAVES.  325 

now  some  of  them  are  still  in  use  as  storehouses,  and  for 
other  purposes,  as,  for  instance,  at  Brantome,  where  there  is 
an  old  chapel  cut  in  the  solid  rock.  Apart  from  the  scientific 
interest,  it  was  impossible  not  to  enjoy  the  beauty  of  the 
scene  which  passed  before  our  eyes  as  we  dropped  down 
the  Vezerc.  As  the  river  visited  sometimes  one  side  of 
its  valley,  sometimes  the  other,  so  we  had  at  one  moment 
rich  meadow-lands  on  each  side,  or  found  ourselves  close 
to  the  perpendicular  and  almost  overhanging  cliff.  Here 
and  there  we  came  upon  some  picturesque  old  castle,  and 
though  the  trees  were  not  in  full  leaf,  the  rocks  were  in 
many  places  green  with  box  and  ivy  and  evergreen  oak, 
which  harmonized  well  with  the  rich  yellow  brown  of  the 
stone  itself. 

But  to  return  to  the  bone-caves.  Remains  of  the  cave- 
bear  have  been  found  at  the  Pey  de  FAze,  of  the  cave-hyasna 
at  Le  Moustier,  and  separated  plates  of  elephant  molars  have 
occurred  ^.t  Le  Moustier  and  at  Laugerie,  accompanied  at  the 
latter  place  by  a  piece  of  a  pelvis.  As  regards  the  two  first 
species,  MM.  Chi'isty  and  Lartet  regard  them  as  probably 
belonging  to  an  earlier  period  than  the  human  remains  found 
in  the  same  caves.  The  presence  of  the  pelvis  has  been 
regarded  as  an  evidence  of  the  contemporaneity  of  the  mam- 
moth with  the  reindeer  hunters  of  Laugerie,  and  it  is  cer- 
tainly difficult  to  see  why  they  should  have  brought  a  fossil- 
bone  into  their  cave,  more  especially  as  the  bones  of  ele- 
phants, from  the  looseness  of  their  texture,  are  not  well 
adapted  for  implements.  Still  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet  do 
not  commit  themselves  to  any  opinion,  having,  as  they  say, 
laid  down  "  une  loi  de  ne  proceder  dans  nos  inductions  que 
par  evidences  incontestables." 

As  regards  the  Fells  spclcca,  ametacarpal  bone  belonging 
probably  to  this  species,  and  bearing  marks  of  knives,  was 
found  in  the  cave  of  Les  Eyzies. 


326  ABSENCE    OF    DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

Stilly  SO  far  as  the  positive  zoological  evidence  is  con- 
cerned^ the  antiquity  of  the  human  remains  found  in  these 
grottoes  rests  mainly  on  the  presence  of  the  reindeer,  as 
regards  which  the  evidence  is  conclusive.  The  bones  of  this 
species  are  all  broken  open  for  the  marrow;  many  of  them 
bear  the  marks  of  knives,  and  at  Les  Eyzies  a  vertebra  was 
found  which  had  been  pierced  by  a  flint  flake.  MM.  Christy 
and  Lartet  are  quite  satisfied  that  this  bone  must  have  been 
fresh  when  it  was  thus  transfixed.  Moreover,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  there  is  still  more  conclusive  evidence  that 
man  and  the  reindeer  were  contemporaneous  in  this  locality. 

But  in  its  negative  aspect  the  zoological  evidence  is  also 
very  instructive.  No  remains  have  been  found  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet,  can  be  referred  to  do- 
mestic animals.  It  is  true  that  bones  of  the  ox  and  horse 
occur,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  belonged  to  domes- 
ticated individuals.  Remains  of  the  boar  are  very  rare, 
and  if  these  animals  had  been  domesticated  we  mi^ht  have 
expected  to  find  them  in  greater  abundance.  The  sheep  and 
goat  are  entirely  wanting,  and,  what  is  still  more  remarkable,, 
even  the  dog  appears  to  be  absent.  At  the  same  time  the 
bones  of  the  horse  and  reindeer,  especially  of  the  latter,  are 
very  numerous ;  but  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet  do  not  think 
that  they  were  domesticated.  On  the  other  hand,  M.  Eiiti- 
meyer  seems  to  be  of  a  different  opinion*.  Of  the  bones 
from  the  cave  of  Veyi'ier  he  has  drawn  out  the  following  list : 
Ptarmigan  31  individuals,  reindeer  18,  ibex  6,  horse  5, 
stag  4,  mountain  hare  4,  marmot  4,  chamois  1,  wolf  1, 
bear  1,  ox  1,  fox  1,  and  stork  1.  He  points  out  that  this 
is  decidedly  an  Alpine  fauna,  and  he  asks  why,  if  -the  rein- 
deer were  wild,  they  did  not  retire  into  the  high  Alps  with 
the  bear,  the  ibex,  and  the  chamois  ?  The  condition  of  the 
bones,  and  especially  of  the  horns,  will  enable  us  some  day 

*  Eevne  Savoisienne,  25tli  April,  1868. 


FLINT    IMPLEMENTS    FOUND    IN    CAVES.  327 

to  answer  this  question,  but  we  Lave  at  present  no  case  in 
which  the  reindeer  and  the  horse  are  held  in  domestication 
together  by  the  same  race,  and  we  must  be  satisfied  to  wait 
for  further  evidence  before  the  question  can  be  decided. 

In  the  collections  made  by  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet,  as 
well  as  that  of  M.  le  Vicomte  de  Lastic  from  Bruniquel,  a 
very  largo  proportion  of  the  animal  remains  consists  of  teeth, 
lower  jaws,  and  horns.  Other  bones  do  indeed  occur,  but 
they  form  a  small  fraction  of  the  whole.  Yet  we  cannot 
attribute  this  to  the  presence  of  dogs,  partly  because  no 
remains  of  this  species  have  yet  been  discovered,  partly 
because  the  bones  which  remain  have  not  been  gnawed, 
but  principally  because  dogs  eat  only  certain  bones  and  parts 
of  bones,  as  a  general  rule  selecting  the  spongy  portions, 
and  rejecting  the  solid  shafts. 

Mr.  Galtou  has  pointed  out  that  some  of  the  savage  tribes 
of  Africa,  not  content  with  the  flesh  of  the  animals  which 
they  kill,  pound  up  also  the  bones  in  mortars,  and  then 
suck  out  the  animal  juices  contained  in  them.  So  also, 
according  to  Leems,  the  Danish  Laplanders  used  to  break 
up  with  a  mallet  all  the  bones  which  contained  any  fat  or 
marrow,  and  then  boil  them  until  all  the  fat  was  extracted*. 
The  Esquimaux  also  mash  up  the  bones  for  the  sake  of  the 
marrow  contained  in  thcmf.  Some  of  the  ancient  stone 
hammers  and  mortars  were  no  doubt  used  for  this  purpose, 
and  the  proportions  of  the  different  bones  afford  us,  I  think, 
indirect  evidence  that  a  similar  custom  prevailed  among  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Southern  France. 

Passing  on  now  to  the  flint  implements  found  in  these 
caves,  we  must  first  call  attention  to  their  marvellous  abun- 
dance.    Without  any  exaggeration  they  may  be  said  to  be 

*  Account  of  Danish  Lapland,  by       p.  396. 
Locms,   Copenhagen,  1767.      Trans-  f  Hall,  Life  with  the  Esqiumaiix, 

latcd  in  Piukcrtou's  Vojages,  vol.  i.       toI.  ii.  pp.  Ii7.  176. 


328 


FLAKES.   SCRAPERS.   AWLS^  ETC. 


iimumerable.  Of  course  this  adds  greatly  to  tte  value  of 
the  conclusions;  nor  need  it  surprise  us_,  because  flint  is 
so  brittle,  that  implements  made  of  it  must  have  been  easily 
broken,  and,  in  that  case,  the  fragments  would  be  thrown 
away  as  useless ;  especially  in  a  chalk  district,  where  the 
supply  of  flint  would,  of  com'se,  be  practically  inexhaustible. 
Many  implements,  no  doubt,  would  be  left  unfinished,  having 
been  rendered  useless,  either  by  some  misdirected  blow,  or 
some  flaw  in  the  flint.  Moreover,  we  should  naturally  expect 
that,  in  a  bone-breccia  of  this  nature,  the  flint  implements 
would  be  relatively  more  abundant  than  in  a  Kjokkenmod- 
ding.  Each  oyster  furnishes  but  a  single  mouthful,  so  that 
the  edible  portions  evidently  form  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
whole  in  the  mammalia  than  in  the  mollusca.  The  Kjok- 
kenmoddings,  therefore,  would  grow,  cceteris  paribus,  more 
rapidly  than  the  bone-breccia,  and  supposing  the  flint  imple- 
ments to  be  equally  numerous  in  both  cases,  they  would,  of 
course,  be  more  sparingly  distributed  in  the  former,  than  in 
the  latter. 

The  principal  objects  of  stone  found  in  the  bone-caves 
which  we  are  now  considering,  are  flakes,  both  simple  and 
worked,  scrapers,  cores,  awls,  lance-heads,  cutters,  hammers, 
and  mortar-stones. 

The  simple  and  worKed  flakes  are,  of  course,  very  nume- 
rous, but  they  do  not  call  for  any  special  observations.  They 
present  the  usual  varieties  of  size  and  form. 

Though  less  numerous  than  the  flakes,  the  scrapers*  are 
still  very  abundant.  On  the  whole  they  seem  to  me  longer 
and  narrower  than  the  usual  Danish  type.  Some  of  them 
were  probably  intended  to  be  used  in  the  hand,  as  both  ends 
are  fashioned  for  scraping.  These  may  be  called  double- 
scrapers.  Others  were  apparently  fixed  in  handles,  as  the 
end  opposite  to  the  scraper  is  broken,  sometimes  on  one  side^ 
*  See  ante,  pp.  96,  97. 


HAMMERS.       LANCE-HEADS.  329 

sometimes  on  both,  so  as  to  form  a  tapering  extremity,  which 
may  have  been  fixed  in  a  handle  either  of  wood,  bone,  or 
liorn.  Many  of  the  flakes  are  also  nipped  off  at  one  end)  in 
the  same  manner.  Perhaps,  as  no  trace  of  such  a  handle  has 
yet  been  discovered  by  MM.  Christy  and  Lartct,  wood  was 
the  material  used  for  this  purpose. 

Of  course,  where  there  was  a  manufactory  of  flint  flakes, 
the  cores  or  nuclei,  from  which  they  were  struck,  must  also 
be  present.  I  was,  however,  astonished  at  the  number  of 
them  in  these  caves ;  during  my  short  visit,  I  myself  picked 
out  more  than  ninety. 

Fio.  181. 


Awls  ana  saws  are  very  much  less  frequent,  but  some  few 
good  specimens  have  been  found.  At  some  of  the  stations, 
curious  flat  implements  (fig.  181)  are  met  with.  From  the 
constancy  of  their  form,  which,  moreover,  is  somewhat  pecu- 
liar, we  may  safely  infer  that  they  were  applied  to  some 
definite  purpose.  For  hammers,  the  reindeer  hunters  seem 
to  have  used  round  stones,  a  good  many  of  which  occur  in 
the  caves,  and  which  bear  unmistakable  marks  of  the  pur- 
pose to  which  they  were  applied.  Some  of  them,  however, 
may  have  served  also  as  heaters.  The  North  American 
Indians,  the  Esquimaux,  and  some  other  savages,  having  no 
pottery,  but  only  wooden  vessels,  which  could  not  be  put 
•on  the  fire,  used  to  heat  stones,  and  then  place  them  in 
the  water  which  they  wished  to  boil.     Many  of  the  stones 


330 


EELATIVE   ANTIQUITY    OF    THE    REMAINS. 


found  in  these  caverns  appear  to  have  been  used  in  this 
manner. 


Fig.  182. 


Fig.  184. 


Fig.  183. 


Flint  Implement  from  Le  Moustier. 

These^  the  commonest  sorts  of  flint  implements^  are  found 
indiscriminately  in  all  the  grottoes^  but  there  are  some  other 
types  which  appear  to  be  less  generally  distributed.  Thus/ 
at  Laugerie  and  Badegoule,  fragments  of  leaf-shaped  lance- 


ABSENCE    OF   POLISHED    IMPLEMENTS  331 

heads,  almost  as  well  worked  as  some  of  those  from  Denmark^ 
are  far  from  uncommon.  If,  therefore,  we  were  to  attempt 
any  classification  of  the  grottoes,  according  to  the  periods  of 
their  occupation,  we  might  be  disposed  to  refer  these  to  a 
somewhat  later  period  than  most  of  the  others.  On  the  con- 
trary, to  judge  from  the  flint  implements,  the  station  at  Lo 
Moustier  would  be  the  most  ancient.  Though  it  would 
perhaps  be  premature  to  attempt  any  such  classification, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Le  Moustier  presents  some  types 
not  yet  found  in  the  other  caves,  and  resembling  in  some 
i-espects  those  of  the  drift. 

One  of  these  peculiar  forms  has  one  side  left  uuchipped, 
and  apparently  intended  to  be  held  in  the  hand,  while  the 
other  has  a  cutting  edge,  produced  by  a  number  of  small 
blows.  Some  of  these  instruments  are  of  large  size,  and 
they  are  supposed  by  MM.  Chi'isty  and  Lartet  to  have  been 
used  for  cutting  wood,  and  perhaps  also  the  large  bones  of 
mammalia.  Another  very  interesting  type  is  figured  on  p. 
330  (figs.  182-4).  This  specimen  is  worked  on  both  sides, 
but  more  frequently  one  of  them  is  left  flat.  MM.  Christy 
and  Lartet  regard  this  type  as  identical  with  the  "  lance- 
head  "  implements  found  in  the  drift.  I  cannot  altogether 
agree  with  them  in  this  comparison.  Not  only  are  the  Le 
Moustier  specimens  smaller,  but  the  workmanship  is  different, 
being  much  less  bold.  Moreover,  the  flat  surface  (a)  is  no 
individual  peculiarity.  It  is  very  frequently,  not  to  say 
generally,  present,  and  occurs  also  on  the  similar  implement 
found  by  Mr.  Boyd  Dawkins  in  the  hyaena-den  at  Wokey 
Hole,  and  figured  by  him  in  the  Geological  Journal,  May, 
1862,  No.  70,  p.  119.  This  very  interesting  type  seems 
rather  to  be  derived  from  the  "  cutters  "  above  described,  in 
which  case  its  resemblance  to  the  di'ift  forms  would  be  acci- 
dental and  insignificant.  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet,  indeed, 
call  the  implements  of  this  type  "  lance-heads,^^  but  it  may 


332  BONE    IMPLEMENTS. 

well  be  doubted  wbetlier  they  were  intended  for  use  in  this 
manner,  though  there  are  specimens  at  Le  Moustier  which 
have  all  the  ajDpearance  of  having  been  intended  for  this 
purpose.  On  the  whole,  then,  although  these  Le  Moustier 
types  are  of  great  interest,  we  must  pause  before  we  regard 
them  as  belonging  to  the  drift  forms. 

Doubtless,  among  the  immense  variety  of  forms  presented 
by  the  flint  implements  from  these  caves,  further  study  will 
distinguish  other  types,  and  we  may  fairly  hope  that  it  will 
throw  more  light  on  the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
designed.  No  polished  implements  have  yet  been  found  in 
any  of  these  caverns.  Yet  the  collection  made  by  the  late 
M.  Mourcin,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Perigueux,  contains, 
among  5025  objects  of  stone,  no  less  than  3002  polished  axes, 
of  which,  however,  many  are  imperfect. 

The  station  at  Moustier  has  not  as  yet  produced  any  im- 
plements made  of  bone,  but  a  good  many  have  been  obtained 
from  the  other  caves.  "  They  consist  of  square  chisel-shaped 
implements;  round,  sharply-pointed,  awl-like  tools,  some  of 
which  also  may  have  served  as  the  spike  of  a  fish-hook  ;  har- 
poon-shaped lance-heads ;  plain  or  barbed  arrow-heads  with 
many  and  double  barbs,  cut  with  wonderful  vigour;  and 
lastly,  eyed  needles  of  compact  bone  finely  pointed,  polished, 
and  drilled  with  round  eyes,  so  small  and  regular  that  some, 
of  the  most  assured  and  acute  believers  in  all  the  other  find- 
ings might  well  doubt  whether  they  could  indeed  have  been 
drilled  with  stone,  until  their  repetition  by  the  hand  of  that 
practical  and  conscientious  observer.  Monsieur  Lartet,  by  the 
very  stone  implements  found  with  them,  has  dispelled  their 
honest  doubts*.^^  Moreover,  we  must  remember  that  the 
New  Zealanders  were  able  with  their  stone  tools  to  drill 
holes  even  through  glass  f. 

So  far,  then  (with  the   exception,  perhaps,  of  the  well- 
*  Christy,  Trans.  Ethii.  Soc,  N.  S.  vol.  iii.  f  Cook's  First  Voy.  p.  464. 


REPRESENTATIONS    OF   ANIMALS. 


333 


■worked  lancc-heads  of  Laugerie  and  Badcgoule)^  all  the  evi- 
dence we  have  yet  obtained  from  these  caves  points  to  a  very 
primitive  period,  earlier  even  than  that  of  the  first  Swiss 
lake-villages,  or  Danish  shell -mounds.  No  fragments  of 
metal  or  pottery  have  yet  been  found  which  can  be  referred 
with  confidence  to  the  Reindeer  period. 

But  there  is  one  class  of  objects  in  these  caves  which, 
taken  alone,  would  have  led  us  to  a  very  different  conclusion. 
No  representation,  however  rude,  of  any  animal  has  yet  been 


Drawing  of  a  Fish. 

found  in  any  of  the  Danish  shell-mounds,  or  the  Stone-age 
lake- villages.    Even  on  objects  of  the  Bronze  Age,  they  are 
so  rare,  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  a  single  well  authen- 
FiG.  186.  ticated  instance  could 

Jbe  produced.  Yet,  in 
these  archaic  bone- 
caves,  many  very  fair 
sketches  have  been 
found,  scratched  on 
bone  or  stone  with  a 
sharp  point,  probably 
of  a  flint  implement. 
In  some  cases  there  is 
Drawing  of  an  Ibex.  •  ovcn    an    attempt   at 

shading.  In  the  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles*,  M. 
Lartet  had  already  made  known  to  us  some  rude  drawings 
found  in  the  Cave  of  Savigne,  and  in  his  last  memoir  he  has 
described  and  figured  some  more  objects  of  a  similar 
character. 

In  the  Dordogne  caves  also,  several  of  these  remarkable 
*  Ann.  des  Sc.  Nat*,  1861,  vol.  xv. 


334 


DRAWING   OF    EEINDEER   AND    MAMMOTH. 


drawings  have  been  discovered^  under  circumstances  which 
seem  to  guarantee  their  authenticity.  Fig.  185  represents 
a  cylindrical  piece  of  reindeer's  horn^  found  at  La  Madelaine, 
and  on  which  are  carved  two  outlines  of  fishes^  one  on  each 
side.  Fig.  186  is  the  piece  of  the  palm  of  a  reindeer's  horn, 
on  which  is  represented  the  head  and  chest  of  an  ibex.  Fig. 
187  represents  a  very  curious  group,  consisting  of  a  snake, 


Fig.  187. 


Group  of  Figures. 

or  rather  eel,  a  human  figiire,  and  two  horses'  heads.  Fig. 
188  is  a  spirited  group  of  reindeer,  and  pi.  2  is  considered  to 
represent  a  mammoth;   it  was  found  at  La  Madelaine,  and 


Group  of  Reindeer. 


the  engraving  was  for  some  time  unnoticed,  as  it  is  rather 
faint  and  obscured  by  numerous  scratches.     It  is  on  a  piece 


m 


jaw,' 


Sf 


E^ 


•\''l^f' 


ff'jhcr  />fu/e.  r3t?^/. 


SCULPTURE.  335 

of  a  mammotli's  tusk,  and  indications  of  long  hair  will  readily 
be  pei'ccived. 

Another  interesting  specimen  is  a  poniard,  cut  out  of  a 
reindeer's  horn  (fig.  189).  The  artist  has  ingeniously 
adapted  the  position  of  the  animal  to  the  necessities  of  the 
case.  The  horns  are  thrown  back  on  the  neck,  the  fore-legs 
are  doubled  up  under  the  belly,  and  the  hind-legs  are 
stretched  out  along  the  blade.-  Unfortunately  the  poniard 
seems  to  have  been  thrown  away  before  it  was  quite  finished, 
but  several  of  the  details  indicate  that  the  animal  was  in- 
tended for  a  reindeer.  Although  it  is  natural  to  feel  some 
surprise  at  finding  these  works  of  art,  still  there  are  in- 
stances among  recent  savages  of  a  certain  skill  in  drawing 
and  sculpture  being  accompanied  by  an  entire  ignorance  of 
metallurgy.  This*  is  particularly  the  case  with  the  Esquimaux, 
some  of  whose  drawings  will  be  given  in  a  future  chapter. 

Fig.  189. 


Handle  of  a  Poniard. 

In  considering  the  probable  condition  of  these  ancient 
Cave-men,  we  must  give  them  full,  credit  for  their  love  of 
art,  such  as  it  was ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  want  of 
metal,  ot  polished  flint  imjilements,  and  even  of  pottery  * ; 
the  ignorance  of  agriculture,  and  the  apparent  absence  of  all 
domestic  animals,  including  even  the  dog,  certainly  imply 
a  very  low  state  of  civilization,  and  a  very  considerable 
antiquity. 

*  I'ottery  is,  however,  very  rare  in  and  is  not  by  any  means  abundant  in 
the  remains  of  the  Irish  Crannoges,      the  Danish  shell-mounds. 


336  HABITS    OF   THE    CAVE-DWELLEES. 

There  is  also  evidence  that  a  considerable  change  of 
climate  must  have  taken  place.  The  reindeer  is  the  most 
abundant  animal,  and  evidently  formed  the  principal  article 
of  food_,  while  we  know  that  this  species  is  now  confined  to 
arctic  climates,  and  could  not  exist  in  the  south  of  France. 
Again,  the  ibex  and  the  chamois,  both  of  which  are  now 
restricted  to  the  snowy  summits  of  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees, 
and  a  species  of  spermophilus,  also  point  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. The  presence  of  the  two  former  species  in  some  of 
the  Swiss  lake-dwellings  is  not  equally  significant,  because 
they  are  in  the  neighbourhood  of  high  mountains,  while 
the  highest  hills  of  the  Dordogne  do  not  reach  to  an  alti- 
tude of  much  more  than  800  feet. 

Another  very  interesting  species  recently  determined 
by  M.  Lartet,  is  the  Antilope  Sa'igo  of  Pallas,  which 
now  abounds  on  the  Steppes  of  North  Eastern  Eui'ope 
and  Western  Asia,  in  the  plains  of  the  Dnieper  and  the 
Volga,  round  the  shores  of  the  Caspian,  and  as  far  as  the 
Altai  Mountains.  Mr.  Christy  tells  us  that  the  northern 
plains  of  Poland,  and  the  Valley  of  the  Dnieper,  are  the 
southern  limits  of  this  species  at  the  present  day. 

Again,  the  accumulation  of  animal  remains  in  these  caves 
is  itself,  as  Mr.  Christy  has  ingeniously  suggested,  a  good 
evidence  of  change  in  the  climate.  We  know  that  the 
Esquimaux  at  present  allow  a  similar  deposit  to  take  place 
in  their  dwellings,  but  this  can  only  be  done  in  Ai'ctic 
regions ;  in  such  a  climate  as  that  now  existing  in  the  south 
of  France,  such  an  accumulation  would,  except  of  course  in 
the  depth  of  winter,  soon  become  intolerably  ofiensive. 

So  far  then  as  the  present  evidence  is  concerned,  it  appears  , 
to  indicate  a  race  of  men  living  almost  as  some  of  the  Esqui- 
maux do  now,  and  as  the  Laplanders  did  a  few  hundred 
years  ago;  and  a  period  intermediate  between  that  of  the 
Polished  Stone  implements  and  of  the  great  extinct  mam- 


HUMAN    REMAINS.  337 

malia :  apparently  also  somewhat  more  ancient  tlian  that  of 
the  sh(?ll-mound  builders  of  Denmark.  But  if  these  Cave- 
men shall  eventually  be  shown  to  have  been  contemporaneous 
with  the  cave-tiger^  the  cave-bear,  the  cave-hya)na,  and  the 
mammoth,  remains  of  which  have  been  found  in  doubtful 
association  with  them,  then,  indeed,  they  must  be  referred  to 
an  even  more  remote  period. 

As  regards  the  Cave-men  themselves,  we  have,  unfortu- 
nately,   but  very   little   information.     For,    although   frag- 
mentary human  bones  have  been  frequently  found,  there  are, 
as  yet,  very  few  cases  on  record  in  which  the  caves  have 
furnished  us  with  skulls  in  such  a  condition  as  to  allow  of 
restoration.     It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  these  few  differ 
greatly  among  themselves.   Some  are  dblichocephalio  or  long- 
headed, others  brachycephalic  or  shorthcadcd.     One  of  the 
most  interesting,  that  discovered  by  Dr.  Schmerling  in.  the 
cave  of  Engis,  near  Liege  (figs.  190,  191),  might  have  been 
that  of  a  modern  European,  so  far  at  least  as  form  is  con- 
cerned.    "  There  is  no  mark  of  degradation  about  any  part 
of  its  structure.     It  is,  in  fact,  a  fair  average  human  skull, 
which  might  have  belonged  to  a  philosopher,  or  might  have 
contained  the  thoughtless  brains  of  a  savage*. ^^  Very  different 
is  the  case  with  the  celebrated  skull,  found  in  a  limestone 
cave  in  the  Neanderthal,  near  Hochdal,  between  Diisseldorf 
and  Elberfeld.   This  remarkable  specimen  was  first  described 
by  Schaafhausenf,  and  '^  under  whatever  aspect,"  says  Prof. 
Huxley  J,  ^' we  view  this  cranium,  whether  we  regard  its  ver- 
tical depression,  the  enormous  thickness  of  its  supraciliary 
ridges,  its  sloping  occiput,  or  its  long  and  straight  squamosal 
suture,  we  meet  with  ape-like  characters,  stamping  it  as  the 
most  pithecoid  of  human  crania  yet  discovered."    It  has  been 
suggested  that  this  Neanderthal  skull  may  Lave  been  that  of 

*  Huxley,  Man's  Placo  in  Nature,  p.  156. 

t  MuUer's  Archiv.,  1858.     Nat.  Hist.  Rev.,  1861.  %  1.  0,  p.  166. 

24 


THE    ENGIS    SKULL. 

There  is  not,  however,  any  sufficient  reason  for  this 

hypothesis; 
and      though 
the   shape   of 
the    skull    is 
so       remark- 
able,       the 
I  brain  appears 
to  have  been 
of     consider- 
able size,  and, 
in  deed,  is  esti- 
mated by  Pro- 
fessor Huxley 
at         about 
seventy-five 
cubic    inches, 
which   is   the 
average  capa- 
city    of     the 
Polynesian 
and     Hotten- 
tot skulls.     It  must, 
however,  be  admitted 
that  though  the  anti- 
quity of  this  skull  is 
no  doubt  great,  there 
is  no  satisfactory  proof 
ijlj  that  it  belonged  to  the 
I  period  of  the  extinct 
Mammaha.        More- 
over,   as    Mr.    Busk 
pointed  out*,  and  as 


The  Engis  Skull. 


*  Nat.  Hist.  Rev.,  1861,  p.  172. 


THE    NEANDERTHAL    SKULL. 


339 


Ihe  Neanderthal  Skull. 


340  CAVE    MEN. 

Dr.  Barnard  Davis  maintains^  "we  have  yet  to  determine  whe- 
ther the  conformation  in  question  be  merely  an  individual 
peculiarity^  or  a  typical  character."  Recent  researches  have 
brought  to  light  at  Cro  Magnon*_,  in  the  Dordogne^  an  inter- 
ment which  has  been  referred,  though  scarcely,  perhaps,  on 
sujfficient  grounds,  to  the  Reindeer  period,  and  which  com- 
prises dolichocephalic  skulls  of  a  type  very  different  to  that  of 
the  Belgian  caves ;  and  Professor  Owen  has  described  a  human 
skull  from  Br  uni  quel,  which  is  oval,  rather  dolicho-  than  braehy- 
cephalic,  and  shows  most  affinity  with  the  oldest  Celtic  types. 
It  would  appear  then  that,  even  at  this  early  period,  Europe 
was  already  occupied  by  more  than  one  race  of  man. 

Thus^  as  regards  the  Engis  skull,  there  seems  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  it  really  belonged  to  a  man  who  was  contempora- 
neous with  the  mammoth,  the  cave-bear,  and  other  extinct 
mammalia ;  yet  it  is  a  perfectly  well  developed  skull,  so  that, 
as  Professor  Huxley  has  well-pointed  out,  "  the  first  traces 
of  the  primordial  stock  whence  man  has  proceeded  need  no 
longer  be  sought,  by  those  who  entertain  any  form  of  the 
doctrine  of  progressive  development,  in  the  newest  ter- 
tiaries ;  but  that  they  may  be  looked  for  in  an  epoch  more 
distant  from  the  age  of  the  Elephas  jprimigenius  than  that  is 
from  us." 

If  space  permitted,  T  would  gladly  have  referred  to  other 
cave  explorations  ;  to  those,  for  instance,  of  Dr.  Regnoli  and 
others  in  Italy,  of  the  Marquis  de  Vibraye,  M.  Garrigou,  M. 
Bourguignet,  M.  Filhol,  and  many  other  archaeologists  in  the 
south  of  France,  where  these  researches  have  been  prose- 
cuted with  great  energy  and  success.  In  fact,  a  whole 
volume  might  be  wi'itten  on  the  subject,  and  it  is  impossible 
in  the  limits  of  a  single  chapter  to  do  justice  to  these  and 
other  observers. 

I  trust,,  however  that  the  evidence  brought  forward  in  this 
*  Reliquige  Aquitanicae,  part  vi. 


CAVE   MEN.  ■        341 

chapter  has  been  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  presence^  in 
bone-caves,  of  ancient  implements  and  human  remains,  asso- 
ciated with  those  of  extinct  mammalia,  is  no  rare  or  excep- 
tional phenomenon.  Nor,  if  we  look  at  the  question  from  a 
scientific  point  of  view,  is  there  any  thing  in  this  that  ought 
to  excite  our  astonishment.  Since  the  period  at  which  these 
caves  were  filled  up,  the  changes  which  have  taken  place 
have  resulted  rather  in  the  extinction  than  in  the  creation  of 
species.  The  stag,  the  horse,  the  boar,  the  dog,  in  short,  all 
our  existing  forms  of  mammalia,  were  already  in  existence ; 
and  there  would  have  been  in  reality  more  just  cause  for 
surprise  if  man  alone  had  been  unrepresented. 


342 


CHAPTER  XI. 


EIVER-DEIFT   GRAVEL-BEDS. 


WHILE  we  have  been  straining  our  eyes  to  tlie  East, 
and  eagerly  watcliing  excavations  in  Egypt  and 
Assyria,  suddenly  a  new  light  has  arisen  in  the  midst  of  us ; 
and  the  oldest  relics  of  man  yet  discovered  have  occurred, 
not  among  the  ruins  of  Niueveh  or  Heliopolis,  not  on  the 
sandy  plains  of  the  Nile  or  the  Euphrates,  but  in  the 
pleasant  valleys  of  England  and  France,  along  the  banks 
of  the  Seine  and  the  Somme,  the  Thames  and  the  Waveney. 
So  unexpected  were  these  discoveries,  so  irreconcilable 
vdth  even  the  greatest  antiquity  until  lately  assigned  to  the 
human  race,  that  they  were  long  regarded  with  neglect  and 
suspicion.  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  to  whom  we  are  so  much 
indebted  for  this  great  step  in  the  history  of  mankind,  ob- 
served, as  long  ago  as  the  year  1841,  in  some  sand  contain- 
ing mammalian  remains,  at  Menchecourt,  near  Abbeville, 
a  flint,  rudely  fashioned  into  a  cutting  instrument.  In  the 
following  years  other  weapons  were  found  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances, and  especially  during  the  formation  of  the  Champ 
de  Mars  at  Abbeville,  where  a  large  quantity  of  gravel  was 
moved  and  many  of  the  so-called  *"' hatchets  ^^  were  dis- 
covered. In  the  year  1846  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  published 
his  first  work  on  the  subject,  entitled  "  De  ^Industrie  Primi- 
tive, ou  les  Ai'ts  et  leur  Origine."  In  this  he  announced 
that  he  had  found  human  implements  in  beds  unmistakably 


(.o/(if*P''l'^'  '^f'-^' 


M.    BOUCHER  DE   PERTHES.  343 

belonging  to  tlie  age  of  the  drift.  In  liis  "Antiquites 
Celtiques  et  Antediluviennes"  (1847),  he  also  gave  numerous 
illustrations  of  these  stone  weapons,  but  unfortunately  the 
figures  were  rude,  and  did  but  scanty  justice  to  the  originals. 
For  seven  years  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  made  few  converts ; 
he  was  looked  upon  as  an  enthusiast,  almost  as  a  madman. 
At  length,  in  1853,  Dr.  Rigollot,  till  then  sceptical,  examined 
for  himself  the  drift  beds  at  the  now  celebrated  St.  Acheul,  near 
Amiens,  found  several  weapons,  and  believed.  Still  the  new 
creed  met  with  but  little  favour ;  prophets  are  proverbially 
without  honour  in  their  own  country,  and  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  At  last,  however,  the 
tide  turned  in  his  favour.  In  1859  Dr.  Falconer,  passing 
through  Abbeville,  examined  his  collection,  and  on  his  return 
to  England  called  the  attention  of  Mr.  Prestwich,  Mr.  Evans, 
and  other  English  geologists,  to  the  importance  of  his  dis- 
coveries. In  consequence,  the  Valley  of  the  Somme  was 
visited  in  1859  and  1860,  firstly,  by  Messrs.  Prestwich  and 
Evans,  and  shortly  afterwards  by  Sir  C.  Lyell,  Sir  R.  Mur- 
chison,  Messrs.' Busk,  Flower,  Mylne,  Godwin- Austen,  and 
Galton;  Professors  Henslow,  Ramsay,  Rogers;  Messrs.  H.' 
Christy,  Rupert  Jones,  James  Wyatt,  myself,  and  other  geo- 
logists. M.  L'Abbe  Cochet,  therefore,  in  his  "Rapport  adresse 
k  Monsieur  le  Senateur  Prefet  de  la  Seine-Inferieure,"  does 
no  more  than  justice  to  our  countrymen,  when  after  a  well- 
merited  tribute  of  praise  to  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  and  Dr. 
Rigollot,  he  adds,  "  Mais  ce  sont  les  Geologues  Anglais,  en 
tete  desquels  il  faut  placer  d'abord  MM.  Prestwich  et  Evans 
....  qui  ....  ont  fini  par  elever  a  la  dignite  de  fait 
scientifique  la  decouverte  de  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes." 

My  visit  to  the  Somme  Valley  was  made  in  company  with 
Mr.  Busk,  Captain  Galton,  and  Mr.  Prestwich,  and  I  com- 
municated the  results  to  the  Natural  History  Review,  in  an 
article  "  On  the  Evidence  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man  afforded 


344  ME.    PEESTWICH   AND    MR.    EVANS. 

by  the  Physical  Structure  of  the  Somme  Valley  ^."  I  have 
seen  no  reason  to  modify  the  general  conclusions  contained 
in  that  article^  of  which^  indeed^  this  chapter  is  in  the  main  a 
reprint. 

We  examined  carefully  not  only  the  flint  weapons^  but  also 
the  beds  in  which  they  were  found.  For  such  an  investigation, 
indeed,  our  two  countrymen  were  especially  qualified :  Mr. 
Prestwich,  from  his  long  study  and  profound  knowledge  of 
the  tertiary  and  quaternary  strata;  and  Mr.  Evans,  from  his 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  stone  implements  belonging 
to  what  we  must  now  consider  as  the  second,  or  at  least  the 
more  recent.  Stone  period.  On  their  return  to  England  Mr. 
Prestwich  communicated  the  results  of  his  visit  to  the  Royal 
Society  t,  while  Mr.  Evans  described  the  implements  them- 
selves in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  J. 

Soon  after  his  first  visit,  Mr.  Prestwich  addressed  a  com- 
munication to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  through  M.  Elie  de 
Beaumont,  in  which  he  urged  the  importance  of  these  dis- 
coveries, and  expressed  a  hope  that  they  would  stimulate 
"les  geologues  de  tons  les  pays  a  une  etude  encore  plus 
approfondie  des  terrains  quaternaires.'''  The  subject  being 
thus  brought  prominently  before  the  geologists  of  Paris, 
M.  Gaudry,  well  known  for  his  interesting  researches  in 
Greece,  was  sent  to  examine  the  weapons  themselves,  and 
the  localities  in  which  they  were  found. 

M.  Gaudry  was  so  fortunate  as  to  find  several  flint  weapons 
in  situ,  and  his  report,  which  entirely  confirmed  the  state- 
ments made  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  led  others  to  visit 

*  On  the  Evidence  of  tlie  Anti-  plements   associated   witli    the   Ee- 

quity  of  Man  afforded  by  the  Physi-  mains  of  Extinct  Species,  in  Beds  of 

cal  Structure  of  the  Somme  Valley.  a  late    Geological  Period,    May   19, 

By  J.  Lubbock,  Esq.,  F.E.S.     With  1859.     Phil.  Trans.  1860. 
Plate  vii.     Natural  History  Keview,  J  Flint  Implements  in  the  Drift, 

vol.  ii.  Archseologia,  1860-62. 

t  On  the  Occurrence  of  Flint  Im- 


MR.   FRERE's   discovery   IN    1800.  345 

the  valley  of  the  Somme,  among  whom  I  may  mention  MM. 
de  Quatrefages,  Lartet,  Collomb,  Hebert,  de  Verneuil,  and 
G.  Pouchet. 

In  the  "Antiquites  Celtiques,"  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes 
suggested  some  gravel-pits  near  Grenellc  at  Paris,  as  being, 
from  their  position  and  appearance,  likely  places  to  contain  flint 
implements.  M.  Gosse  shortly  afterwards  found  flint  imple- 
ments in  these  pits,  being  the  first  discovery  of  this  nature  in 
the  valley  of  the  Seine,  while  in  that  of  the  Oise,  a  small 
hatchet  has  been  found  by  M.  Peigne  Delacourt,  at  Precy, 
near  Creil. 

Nor  have  these  discoveries  been  confined  to  France.  There 
has  long  been  in  the  British  Museum  a  rude  stone  weapon, 
described  as  follows  : — "  No.  246.  A  British  weapon,  found 
with  elephant's  tooth,  opposite  to  black  Mary's,  near  Grayes 
inn  lane.  Conyers.  It  is  a  large  black  flint,  shaped  into  the 
figure  of  a  spear's  point."  Mr.  Evans  tells  us,  moreover, 
(1.  c.  p.  22)  "that  a  rude  engraving  of  it  illustrates  a  letter 
on  the  Antiquities  of  London,  by  Mr.  Bagford,  dated  1715, 
printed  in  Hearne's  edition  of  Leland's  Collectanea,  vol.  i.  6, 
p.  Ixiii.  From  his  account  it  seems  to  have  been  found  with 
a  skeleton  of  an  elephant  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Conyers." 
This  most  interesting  weapon  agrees  exactly  with  some  of 
those  found  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme. 
•  Mr.  Evans,  on  his  return  from  Abbeville,  observed  in  the 
museum  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  some  spe- 
cimens exactly  like  those  in  the  collection  of  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes.  On  examination,  it  proved  that  they  had  been 
presented  by  Mr.  Frere,  who  found  them  with  bones  of 
extinct  animals  in  a  gravel-pit  at  Hoxne  in  Sufiblk,  and  had 
well  described  and  figured  them  in  the  Archasologia  for  the 
year  1800.  This  communication  is  of  so  much  interest  that 
I  have  thought  it  desirable  to  reproduce  his  figures,  reduced 
one-half  (figs.  195-198). 


346 


SIMILAR   DISCOVERIES    ELSEWHERE. 


Again,  twenty-five  years  ago,  Mr.  Wliitburn,  of  Godal- 
ming*,  while  examining  the  gravel-pits  between  Guildford 
and  Godalming,  remarked  a  peculiar  flint,  which  he  carried 
away,  and  has  since  preserved  in  his  collection.  It  belongs 
to  the  "^^  drift"  type,  but  is  very  rude.  Thus,  this  peculiar 
type  of  flint  implement  has  been  actually  found  in  association 
with  the  bones  of  the  mammoth  on  various  occasions  during 


Fig.  195. 


Fig.  196. 


Flint  Implement  from  Hoxne. 


nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  years!  While,  however,  these 
instances  remarkably  corroborate  the  statements  made  by 
M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  they  in  no  way  detract  from  the 
credit  due  to  that  gentleman. 


*  Prestwich;  Geol.  Jour.  August,  1861. 


SIMILAR    DISCOVERIES    IN    OTHER    COUNTRIES. 


3-i7 


In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned,  similar  hatchets  have 
been  found   in   various  other  localities^  as  for  instance  by 


Fig.  197. 


Fig.  198. 


Flint  Implement  from  Hoxne. 


Mr.  Warren,  at  Icklingham ;  by  Mr.  Leech,  near  Heme  Bay ; 
by  Mr.  Evans  himself  at  Abbot's  Langley;  by  Mr.  Norman 


348  ASSYRIA.      INDIA. 

at  Green  Street  Green^  in  Kent;  by  Messrs.  Whitaker  and 
Hughes,,  near  Dartford ;  in  fact,  similar  discoveries  have  been 
made  in  most  of  our  south-eastern  counties. 

In  the  gravel  near  Bedford^  again  associated  with  the 
remains  of  the  mammoth,  rhinoceros,  hippopotamus,  ox, 
horse,  and  deer,  Mr.  Wyatt*  has  found  flint  implements 
resembling  both  of  the  two  principal  types  found  at  Abbe- 
ville and  Amiens.  This  case  is  very  interesting,  because  it 
shows  that  the  drift  flint  hatchets  are  subsequent  to  the 
boulder  clay;  the  Bedford  valley  being  cut  through  hills 
capped  by  a  deposit  of  that  period.  At  Hoxne,  also,  the  bed 
containing  flint  implements  appears  actually  to  rest  on  the 
boulder  clay. 

The  number  of  localities  on  the  Continent  in  which  stone 
implements  have  been  obtained  from  beds  of  the  Quaternary 
period  has  also  largely  increased. 

Stone  implements  more  or  less  resembling  those  charac- 
teristic of  the  Palseolithic  Age,  have  also  been  found  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  as  for  instance,  in  Assyria,  North  America, 
and  Hindostan ;  though  except  in  the  latter  case  we  have  no 
reason  for  attributing  to  them  any  very  great  antiquity. 
The  Indian  specimens  have  been  described  by  Mr.  Bruce 
Footef:  they  were  found  in  the  Madras  and  North  Arcot 
districts,  and  are  of  quartzite,  and  in  several  cases  were 
found  by  Messrs.  Foote  and  King  m  situ  at  depths  of 
from  3  to  10  feet.  The  specimens  figured  (figs.  199,  200) 
will  show  how  closely  they  resemble  our  European  specimens, 
and  it  is  interesting  that  in  the  words  of  Mr,  Foote,  "  the 
area,  over  which  the  lateritic  formations  were  spread,  has 
undergone,    as   already    stated,    great    changes    since   their 

*  Flint  Implements  in  the  Drift.  f  On  the  Occnrrence  of  Stone  im- 

By  J.  Wyatt.      Bedfordshire  Archi-  plements  in  lateritic  formations  in  va- 

tectural  and  Archaeological  Society,  rious  parts  of  the  Madras  and  North 

1862.  Arcot  Districts.     By  R.  Bruce  Foote. 


ANTIQUITY   AS    SHOWN    BY   PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY.  349 

deposition.  A  great  part  of  tlie  formation  has  been  re- 
moved by  denudation^  and  deep  valleys  cut  into  tliem,  now- 
occupied  by  the  alluvium  of  various  rivers*."  Unfortunately 
no  bones  have  yet  been  found  in  these  beds.  Worked  agates 
have  also  been  found  in  the  deposits  of  the  Nerbudda,  and 

Pig.  199. 


^W  \_y* 


■r^'fr 


stone  Implement  from  Madras. 

in  the  bone-beds  of  the  upper  Godavery,  "which  are,  there 
is  little  doubt,  the  same  age  as  those  of  the  Nerbudda,  which 
contain  Elcjyhas  insignis,  E.  Namadicus,  Hippopotamus palce- 
indicus,  Bos  palceindicus,  and  B.  Namadicus ■\" 

*  1.  c.  p.  28.  t  Blandford,  Geol.  Magazine,  February,  186& 


350 


ANTIQUITY   AS    SHOWN   BY 


The  specimens  found  in  the  Somme  Valley  are,  as  I  shall 
endeavour  to  show,  connected  with  the  present  river  system, 
and  the  same  was  the  case  with  those  first  discovered  in 
England.  Further  researches,  however,  have  brought  to 
light  cases  in  which  flint  implements  have  been  found  in  beds 


Fig.  200. 


Stone  Implement  from  Madras. 

of  gi'avel  having  no  relation  to  the  existing  river  systems. 
Mr.  Flower  has  called  attention  to  several  of  these  in  our 
eastern  counties,  and  I  have  had  the  advantage  of  visiting 
them  with  him.  The  Shrub  Hill  gravel-bed,  for  instance,  is 
a  low  mound  of  gravel  of  about  fifteen  feet  thick,  rising  in 
the  middle  of  the  fen  near  Ely,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides 


PHYSICAL   GEOGRAPHY.  351 

by  a  low  flat  district.  Yet  in  this  bed,  and  especially  in  the 
lowest  part  of  it,  numerous  flint  implements  of  the  palaso- 
lithic  types  have  been  discovered. 

Some  of  the  Hampshire  specimens  also  have  been  found 
in  situ,  in  a  mass  of  drift  gravel  which  covers  the  Tertiary 
beds,  and  is  intersected  by  all  the  streams  which  now  run 
into  the  Southampton  water.  This  mass  of  drift  gravel, 
moreover,  is  not  confined  to  the  mainland,  but  caps  also  the 
Foreland  Clifis  on  the  east  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  an 
oval  flint  implement  has  recently  been  discovered  by  Mr.  T. 
Codriugtou.  As  Mr.  Evans  has  pointed  out,  we  seem,  in 
this  discovery,  to  have  clear  evidence  that  man  existed  in 
this  country  before  the  Southampton  water  was  formed,  of 
the  Isle  of  Wight  was  separated  from  the  mainland,  and  we 
may  therefore  regard  these  implements  as  among  the  most 
striking  proofs  of  Man's  Antiquity,  which  they  carry  back  to 
a  period  far  more  ancient  than  that  which  had  previously  been 
assigned  to  him. 

We  cannot  therefore  wonder  that  the  statement  by  Mr. 
Frere  has  been  distrusted  for  more  than  half  a  century ;  that 
the  weapon  found  by  Mr.  Conyers  has  lain  unnoticed  for 
more  than  double  that  time ;  that  the  discoveries  by  M. 
Boucher  de  Perthes  have  been  ignored  for  fifteen  years  ;  that 
the  numerous  cases  in  which  caves  have  contained  the 
remains  of  men  together  with  those  of  extinct  animals  have 
been  suppressed  or  explained  away :  these  facts  show  how 
deeply  rooted  was  the  conviction  that  man  belonged  alto- 
gether to  a  more  recent  order  of  things ;  and  whatever  other 
accusation  may  be  brought  against  them,  geologists  can  at 
least  not  be  said  to  have  hastily  accepted  the  theory  of  the 
co-existence  of  the  human  race  with  the  now  extinct  Pachy- 
dermata  of  Western  Europe. 

Though,  however,  geologists  are  now  almost  unanimous 
as  to  the  great  antiquity  of  these  curious  weapons,  still,  it  is 


352  THE    QUESTIONS   AT   ISSUE. 

not  necessary  that  they  should  be  received  as  judges ;  I  only 
propose  to  summon  them  as  witnesses. 

The  questions  to  be  decided  may  be  stated  as  follows : — 

1st,  Ai'e  the  so-called  flint  implements  of  human  work- 
manship ? 

2ndly.  Are  the  flint  implements  of  the,  same  age  as  the 
beds  in  which  they  are  found,  and  the  bones  of  the  extinct 
animals  with  which  they  occur  ? 

3rdly.  What  are  the  conditions  under  which  these  beds 
were  deposited  ?  And  how  far  are  we  justified  in  imputing 
to  them  a  great  antiquity  ? 

To  the  first  two  of  these  questions  an  affirmative  answer 
would  be  given  by  almost  every  geologist  who  has  paid  any 
special  attention  to  the  subject.  Fortunately,  however,  for 
the  sake  of  the  discussion,  there  is  one  exception.  Black- 
wood's Magazine  for  October,  1860,  contains  an  able  article 
in  which  the  last  two  questions  are  maintained  to  be  still 
unanswered,  and  in  which,  therefore,  a  verdict  of  "  Not 
Proven  "  is  demanded.  Not,  indeed,  that  there  is  any  dif- 
ference of  opinion  as  to  the  weapons  themselves.  "  They 
bear,'*'  admits  the  writer  (p.  438),  "  unmistakably  the  indica- 
tions of  having  been  shaped  by  the  skill  of  man.''  "For 
more  than  twenty  years,"  says  another  competent  wit- 
ness— Prof.  Ramsay — "  I  have  daily  handled  stones,  whether 
fashioned  by  nature  or  art,  and  the  flint  hatchets  of  Amiens 
and  Abbeville  seem  to  me  as  clearly  works  of  art  as  any 
Sheffield  whittle*."  But  best  of  all,  an  hour  or  two  spent  in 
examining  the  forms  of  ordinary  flint  gravel,  would,  I  am 
sure,  convince  any  man  that  these  stones,  rude  though  they 
be,  were  undeniably  fashioned  by  the  hand  of  man. 

Still  it  might  be  supposed  that  they  were  forgeries  made 
by  ingenious  workmen  to  entrap  unwary  geologists.  They 
have,  however,  been  actually  found  by  Messrs.  Boucher  de 
*  AthenEeum,  July  16,  1859. 


EVIDENOE  DERIVABLE  PROM  THE  FLINTS  THEMSELVES.      353 

Perthes,  Henslow,  Cliristy_,  Flower,  Wyatt,  Evans,  myself,  and 
others,  under  circumstances  which  preclude  all  idea  of  decep- 
tion. One  seen,  though  not  found  by  himself  in  situ,  is  thus 
described  by  Mr.  Prestwich  :  "  it  was  lying  flat  in  the  gravel 
at  a  depth  of  seventeen  feet  from  the  original  surface,  and  six 
and  a  half  feet  from  the  chalk.  One  side  slightly  projected. 
The  gravel  around  was  undisturbed,  and  presented  its  usual 
perpendicular  face.  I  carefully  examined  the  specimen,  and 
saw  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was  in  its  natural  position,  for 
the  gravel  is  generally  so  loose,  that  a  blow  with  a  pick 
disturbs  and  brings  it  down  for  some  way  round ;  and  the 
matrix  is  too  little  adhesive  to  admit  of  its  being  built  up 

again  as  before  with  the  same  materials I  found  also 

afterwards,  on  taking  out  the  flint,  that  it  was  the  thinnest 
side  which  projected,  the  other  side  being  less  finished  and 
much  thicker*."  But  evidence  of  this  nature,  though  in- 
teresting, is  unnecessary ;  tJie  flints  speak  for  themselves. 
Many  of  them  are  more  or  less  rolled  or  worn  at  the  edges. 
Those  which  have  lain  in  siliceous  or  chalky  sands  are  more 
or  less  polished  and  have  a  beautiful  glossiness  of  surface, 
very  unlike  that  of  a  newly -broken  flint.  In  ochreous  sand, 
"  especially  if  argillaceous,  they  are  stained  yellow,  whilst  in 
ferruginous  sands  and  clays  they  assume  a  brown  colour," 
and  in  some  beds  they  become  white  and  porcellaneous. 
In  many  cases,  moreover,  they  have  incrustations  of  carbo- 
nate of  lime  and  small  dendritic  markings.  The  freshly- 
broken  chalk  flints,  on  the  contrary,  are  of  a  dull  black  or 
leaden  colour ;  they  vary  a  little  in  darkness  but  not  in  colour, 
and  do  not  present  white  or  yellow  faces;  moreover,  the 
new  surfaces  are  dead,  and  want  the  glossiness  of  those  which 
have  been  long  exposed.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say, 
that  they  have  no  dendritic  markings,  nor  are  they  encrusted 
by  carbonate  of  lime. 

*  Phil.  Trans.  1860,  p.  292. 
25 


354  THE    FORGERIES. 

Now  the  forgeries — for  tliere  are  forgeries — differ  from  tlie 
genuine  implements  by  just  those  characters  which  distin- 
guish newly-broken  flints  from  those  which  have  lain  long  in 
sand  or  gravel,  or  exposed  to  atmospheric  agencies.  They 
are  black;  never  white  or  yellow;  their  surfaces  are  not 
glossy,  but  dull  and  lustreless,  and  they  have  no  dendritic 
markings  or  incrustations.  Nor  would  it  be  possible  for  an 
ingenious  rogue  to  deceive  us  by  taking  a  stained  flint  and 
fashioning  it  into  a  hatchet;  because  the  discoloration  of 
the  fliut  is  quite  superficial,  seldom  more  than  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  in  thickness,  and  follows  the  outline  of  the  present 
surface,  showing  that  the  change  of  colour  was  subsequent  to 
the  manufacture ;  while  if  such  a  flint  were  tampered  with, 
the  fraud  would  be  easily  detected,  as  each  blow  would  re- 
move part  of  the  outer  coating,  and  expose  the  black  flint 
inside,  as  may  be  seen  in  pi.  1,  fig.  11. 

Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  when  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes'  work  was  published,  the  weapons  therein  described 
were  totally  unhke  any  of  those  familiar  to  arch^ologists. 
Since  that  time,  however,  not  only  have  similar  implements 
been  found  both  in  England,  France,  and  other  countries, 
but,  as  already  mentioned,  it  has  since  come  to  light  that 
similar  weapons  were  in  two  cases  actually  described  and 
figured  in  England  many  years  ago,  and  that  in  both  these 
instances  they  were  found  in  association  with  the  bones  of 
extinct  animals.  On  this  point,  therefore,  no  evidence  could 
be  more  conclusive. 

"We  may,  then,  pass  on  to  the  second  subject,  and  consider. 
Whether  the  Flint  implements  are  as  old  as  the  beds  in  which 
they  occur,  and  as  the  remains  of  extinct  mammalia  with 
which  they  are  associated. 

It  has  been  suggested  by  some  writers,  that  though  they 
are  really  found  in  the  mammaliferoas  gravel,  they  may  be 
comparatively  recent,  and  belong  really  to  the  Neohthic  or 


CHAEACTER    OF   THE   TRUE    DRIFT   IMPLEMENTS.  355 

later  Stone  Age,  but  have  gradually  sunk  down  from  above 
by  their  own  weight,  or  perhaps  have  been  buried  in  arti- 
ficial excavations.  There  are,  however,  no  cracks  or  fissures 
by  which  the  hatchets  could  have  reached  their  present 
positions,  and  the  strata  are  "  altogether  too  compact)  and 
immovable  to  admit  of  any  such  insinuation  or  percolation 
of  surface  objects*. ''  Nor  could  any  ancient  excavations 
have  been  made  and  filled  in  again  without  leaving  evident 
traces  of  the  change.  Moreover,  we  may  in  this  case  also 
appeal  to  the  flint  implements  themselves,  which,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  agree  in  colour  and  appearance  with  the  gravel 
in  which  they  occur ;  and  it  seems,  therefore,  only  reasonable 
to  infer  that  they  have  been  subjected  to  the  same  influences. 
Moreover,  if  they  belonged  to  the  later  Stone  period,  and  had 
found  their  way  by  any  accident  into  these  gravels,  then  they 
ought  to  correspond  with  the  other  flint  implements  of  the 
Stone  period.  But  this  is  not  the  case.  The  flakes,  indeed, 
ofier  no  peculiarities  of  form.  Similar  splinters  of  flint,  or 
obsidian,  have  been  used  in  the  absence  of  metal  by  savage 
tribes  in  almost  all  ages  and  all  countries.  The  other  imple- 
ments, on  the  contrary,  are  very  characteristic.  They  are 
almost  always  made  of  flint,  whereas  many  other  minerals, 
such,  for  instance,  as  serpentine,  jade,  clayslate,  etc.,  were 
used  in  the  later  Stone  Age.  Their  forms  are  also  peculiar ;. 
some  are  oval  (pi.  1,  fig.  11),  chipped  up  to  an  edge  all  round, 
and  from  two  to  eight  or  nine  inches  in  length.  A  second 
type  is  also  oval,  but  somewhat  pointed  at  one  end  (pi.  1, 
fig.  10,  and  figs.  195,  196).  Others  again  (figs.  197,  198) 
have  a  more  or  less  heavy  butt  at  one  end  and  are  pointed 
at  the  other.  Mr.  Evans  regards  these  f  as  having  served 
as  spear  or  lance  heads.  He  treats  as  a  mere  variety  of  this 
type  those  implements  in  which  the  cutting  end  is  rounded 
off  but  not  pointed.  Some  of  these,  however,  were  evidently 
*  iiiactwood,  1.  0.  I  1.  c.  I860,  p.  11. 


356  DRIFT    IMPLEMENTS   NEVER    GROUND. 

intended  to  be  held  in  tlie  hand^  and  probably  served  a  dif- 
ferent purpose ;  tliey  may^  I  think^  fairly  be  considered  as  a 
fourth  type,  thougb  it  must  be  confessed  that  all  these  types 
run  very  much  into  one  another,  and  in  any  large  collection 
many  intermediate  forms  may  be  found.  The  smaller  end  is, 
in  all  cases,  the  one  adapted  for  cutting,  while  the  reverse  is 
almost  invariably  the  case  in  the  oval  celts  of  the  Neolithic 
Stone  Age  (figs.  97  and  98). 

Again,  the  flint  implements  of  the  drift  are  never  polished 
or  ground,  but  are  always  left  rough.  We  may  safely  esti- 
mate that  five  thousand  at  least  have  been  already  found  in 
the  drift  gravels  of  England  and  France,  and  of  this  large 
number  there  is  not  one  which  shows  a  trace  of  polishing  or 
grinding ;  while  we  know  that  the  reverse  was  almost  always 
the  case  with  the  celts  of  the  later  Stone  period.  It  is  true 
that  the  latter  is  not  an  invariable  rule ;  thus,  in  Denmark 
there  are  two  forms  of  So-called  "  axes  "  which  are  left  rough 
— namely,  the  small  triangular  axes  of  the  Kjbkkenmoddings 
(figs.  108-110)  which  are  invariably  so,  and  the  large  square- 
sided  axes  with  which  this  is  often  the  case.  But  these  two 
forms  of  implements  resemble  in  no  other  way  those  which 
are  found  in  the  drift,  and  could  not  for  a  moment  be  mis- 
taken for  them.  It  is  not  going  too  far  to  say,  that  there  is 
not  a  single  well-authenticated  instance  of  a  "  celt "  being 
found  in  the  drift,  or  of  an  implement  of  the  drift  type  being 
discovered  either  in  a  tumulus,  or  associated  with  remains  of 
the  later  Stone  Age. 

It  is  useless  to  speculate  upon  the  use  made  of  these  rude 
yet  venerable  weapons.  Almost  as  well  might  we  ask,  to 
what  use  could  they  not  be  applied?  Numerous  and  spe- 
cialized as  are  our  modern  instruments,  who  could  describe 
the  exact  use  of  a  knife  ?  But  the  primitive  savage  had 
no  such  choice  of  weapons;  we  see  before  us  perhaps  the 
whole  contents  of  his  workshop ;  and  with  these  implements. 


SCARCITY    OF    HUMAN    BONES.  357 

rude  as  they  seem  to  us,  he  may  have  cut  down  trees, 
scooped  them  out  into  canoes,  grubbed  up  roots,  attacked  his 
enemies,  killed  and  cut  up  his  food,  made  holes  through  the 
ice  in  winter,  prepared  firewood,  etc. 

The  almost  entire  absence  of  human  bones,  which  has  ap- 
peared to  some  so  inexplicable  as  to  throw  a  doubt  on  the 
whole  question,  is,  on  consideration,  less  extraordinary  than 
it  might  at  first  sight  appear  to  be.  If,  for  instance,  we  turn 
to  other  remains  of  human  settlements,  we  shall  find  a 
repetition  of  the  same  phenomenon.  Thus  in  the  Danish 
shell-mounds,  where  worked  flints  are  by  far  more  plentiful 
than  in  the  St.  Acheul  gravel,  human  bones  are  of  the 
greatest  rarity,  only  one  piece  in  fact  having  ever  been 
found.  At  that  period,  as  in  the  Drift  age,  mankind  lived 
by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  could  not,  therefore,  be  very 
numerous.  In  the  era,  however,  of  the  Swiss  Lake-habi- 
tations, the  case  was  dTifferent.  M.  Ti'oyon  estimates  the 
population  of  the  "  Pfahlbauten "  during  the  Stone  Age  at 
about  32,000;  in  the  Bronze  era,  42,000.  On  these  calcu- 
lations, indeed,  even  their  ingenious  author  would  not 
probably  place  much  reliance ;  still  the  tiumber  of  the  Lake- 
villages  already  known  is  very  considerable ;  in  four  of  the 
Swiss  lakes  only,  more  than  seventy  have  been  discovered, 
and  some  of  them  were  of  great  extent :  Wangen,  for  in- 
stance, being,  according  to  M.  Lohle,  supported  on  more  than 
50,000  piles.  Yet,  if  we  exclude  a  few  bones  of  children, 
human  remains  have  been  obtained  from  these  settlements  in 
six  cases  only.  The  number  of  flint  implements  obtained 
hitherto  from  the  drift  of  the  Somme  valley  probably  does 
not  much  exceed  5000* ;  the  settlement  at  Concise  alone 
(Lake  of  Neuchatel)  has  supplied  about  24,000,  and  yet  has 

*  One  of  the  tumuli  in  the  Missis-       implements.      This,  however,   must 
Bippi  Valley  is  estimated  to  have  alone      have  been  a  very  exceptional  case, 
contained  nearly  four  thousand  stone 


358  SCAECJTY    OF    MEN    IN   ANCIENT    TIMES. 

not  produced  a  single  human  skeleton*.  Probably  this 
absence  of  bones  is  in  part  attributable  to  tlie  habit  of 
burying  or  burning;  the  instinct  of  man  has  long  been  in 
most  cases  to  bury  his  dead  out  of  his  sight.  Still,  so  far  as 
the  drift  of  St.  Acheul  is  concerned,  the  difficulty  will  alto- 
gether disappear,  if  we  remember  that  no  trace  has  ever  yet 
been  found  of  any  animal  as  small  as  a  man.  Even  of  the  ele- 
phant and  rhinoceros,  the  ox,  horse,  and  stagf,  only  the  larger 
and  more  solid  bones  remain ;  every  vestige  of  the  smaller 
ones  has  perished.  No  one  supposes  that  this  scanty  list 
fairly  represents  the  mammalian  fauna  of  this  time  and  place. 
When  we  find  at  St.  Acheul  the  remains  of  the  wolf,  boar, 
roedeerj  badger,  and  other  animals  which  existed  during  the 
drift  period,  then,  and  not  till  then,  we  may  perhaps  begin 
to  wonder  at  the  entire  absence  of  human  skeletons. 

We  must  also  remember  that  when  man  lived  on  the 
produce  of  the  chase  there  must  Tiave  been  a  very  large 
number  of  wild  animals  to  each  hunter.  Among  the  Lap- 
landers, 100  reindeer  is  the  smallest  number  on  which  a  man 
can  subsist,  and  no  one  is  considered  rich  who  does  not  pos- 
sess at  least  from  300  to  500.  But  these  are  domesticated, 
and  a  large  supply  of  nourishment  is  derived   from  their 


*  Rapport   h  la  Coimnission  des  them  in  preference  to  all  otters,  nay, 

Musees,  October,  1861,  p.  16.  almost  exclusively,  in  the  manufac- 

t  The  bones  of  the  stag  owe  their  tiu'e    of    those    instruments   which 

preservation    perhaps     to     another  coiold  be  made  of  bone  (Fauna  der 

cause.     Prof.  Eiitimeyer  tells  us  that  Pfahlbauten,  p.  12).     How  common 

among  the  bones    from  the   Pfahl-  the  bones  of  the  stag  are  in  quater- 

bauten  none  are  in  better  condition  nary  strata,  geologists  know,  and  we 

than  those  of  the  stag :  this  is  the  have  here,  perhaps,  an  explanation  of 

consequence,  he  says,  of  their  "  dich-  the  fact.     The  antler  of  the  reindeer 

ten  Gefiige,  ihrer  Harte  und  Sprodig-  is  also  preferred  at  the  present  day 

keit,    so  wie  der  grossen  Fettlosig-  by  the  Esquimaux  in  the  manufac- 

keit,"    peculiarities    which    recom-  ture  of  their  stone  weapons.     (Sir  E. 

mended  them  so  strongly  to  the  men  Belcher,  Trans.  Ethn.   Soc.  vol.  i.  p. 

of  the  Stone    Age,  that   they  used  139.) 


PROPOETION  OF  MEN  TO  OTHER  ANIMALS.       359 

milk.  In  the  case  of  wild  animals  we  may  safely  assume 
that  a  much  larger  number  would  be  necessary.  The  Hud- 
son's Bay  territory  is  said  to  comprise  about  900,000,000 
acres.  The  number  of  Indians  is  estimated  at  139,000. 
Allowing  one  wild  animal  to  each  twenty  acres,  this  would 
give  about  300  animals  to  each  Indian ;  and,  if  we  consider 
the  greater  longevity  of  man,  we  must  multiply  this  by  six, 
or  even  more. 

Or  again,  we  may  attempt  to  form  an  estimate  in  the 
following  manner.  The  number  of  skins  received  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  18GG  amounted  to  1,250,000, 
made  up  as  follows  : 

Beaver 144,744 

Fox 32,982 

Lynx 68,040 

Marten 92,373 

Mink 73,149 

Musquash 608,396 

Otter 14,376 

Rabbit 105,909 

Bear '.     .         6,457 

Racoon 24,860 

Wolf 7^429 

Sundi-ies 63,950 

1,242,765 

The  number  of  Indians  is  estimated  at  139,000, 
and  Hearne  states  that  every  one  requires  at 
least  twenty  deerskins  for  clothes,  without 
counting  those  required  for  tent-cloths,  bags, 
etc. ;  this  therefore  would  give  us  139,000 
X  20 2,780,000 


Carried  over       ...     4,022,765 


360  HUMAN    KEMAINS. 

Brought  over  .  .  .  4,022,765 
But  tlie  deerskins  are  fit  for  clotlies  only  during 
2  months  in  the  year,  and  as  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  majority  of  the  animals 
enumerated  above  are  not  fit  for  food,  others 
must  have  been  killed  in  sufloicient  quantities 
to  serve  as  food  for  10  months.  Assuming 
that  an  Indian  requires  one  every  month,  which 
is  probably  within  the  mark,  we  shall  again 
require  139,000  x  10  (the  number  of  months)     1,390,000 


Making  therefore  a  total  of    ...     .     5,412,765 

And  assuming  that  one  animal  out  of  twenty  is  killed  by 
the  Indians,  we  shall  have  108,000,000  to  139,000  Indians, 
or  about  750  animals  to  each  man,  besides  which,  a  further 
allowance  must  be  made  as  before  on  account  of  man's 
greater  longevity.  Dr.  Eae,  who  has  had  so  much  experi- 
ence in  these  matters,  has  been  good  enough  to  look  over  the 
above  calculation,  which  he  considers  fairly  estimated,  but  it 
has  of  course  no  pretensions  to  accuracy. 

Lastly,  it  may  be  observed  that  man  is  less  likely  to  be 
drowned  by  sudden  river  floods,  than  is  the  case  with  other 
land  mammalia  *  ;  and,  on  the  whole,  therefore,  it  is  natural 
that  the  bones  of  animals  would  be  far  more  common  in  these 
gravels  than  those  of  man. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  latter  are  alto- 
gether absent.  Without  relying  on  the  human  lower  jaw, 
stated  to  have  been  found  in  the  pit  at  Moulinguignon,  and 
about  which  there  has  been  so  much  discussion  and  difference 
of  opinion,  I  may  instance  the  discovery  of  human  remains 
by  M.  Bertrandf,  at  Clichy,  in   the  valley  of  the  Seine. 

*  See,  for  instance,  Bakie,  Explor-  f  Les  Mondes,  1869,  p.  64. 

ing  Yoyage  up  tlie  Kwora,  p.  215. 


COEXISTENCE   OF   MAN    WITH    THE    MAMMOTH.  361 

Among  these  bones,  about  the  authenticity  and  antiquity 
of  which  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt,  was  a  skull  which 
has  been  examined  by  M.  Lartet,  and  which  is  decidedly 
dolichocephalic. 

We  have  as  yet  but  partly  answered  the  second  of  the  two 
questions  with  which  we  started.  Even  admitting  that  the 
flint  hatchets  are  coeval  with  the  gravel  in  which  they  occur, 
it  remains  to  be  shown  that  the  bones  of  the  extinct  animals 
belong  also  to  the  same  period.  This  was  at  first  doubted  by 
some  geologists,  who  suggested  that  they  might  have  been 
washed  out  of  earlier  strata. 

If,  however,  these  bones  belonged  to  a  period  earlier  than 
that  of  the  gravel,  where,  we  may  ask,  are  the  remains  of  the 
animals  which  did  exist  at  that  time  ?  Moreover,  the  bones, 
though  sometimes  much  worn  and  broken,  are  at  others,  and 
even,  according  to  Mr.  Prestwich,  "  as  a  general  rule*,  either 
not  rolled  at  all,  or  are  slightly  so."  Secondly,  these  species, 
and  particularly  the  mammoth  and  the  woolly-haired  rhino- 
ceros, are  the  characteristic  and  commonest  species  of  these 
beds,  not  only  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  but  in  all  the 
drift  gravels  of  England  and  France;  while,  if  they  belonged 
in  reality  to  an  earlier  period,  they  would  not  occur  so  con- 
stantly, and  they  would  be  accompanied  by  other  species 
characteristic  of  earlier  times. 

Thirdly,  the  materials  forming  the  drift  gravels  of  the 
Somme  Valley  have  all  been  obtained  from  the  present  area 
of  drainage,  and  there  are  in  this  district  no  older  beds  from 
which  the  remains  of  these  extinct  mammalia  could  possibly 
liave  been  derived.  There  are,  indeed,  outliers  of  tertiary 
strata,  but  the  mammalian  remains  found  in  those  beds 
belong  to  other,  and  much  older,  species. 

Fourthly,  as  regards  the  rhinoceros,  we  have  the  express 
testimony  of  M.  Baillon,  that  on  one  occasion  all  the  bones 
*  Phil.  Trans.  1.  c.  p.  300. 


I 


862  THE    MAMMOTH   AND    KHINOCEKOS. 

of  a  liind-leg  were  found  in  their  natural  positions  at  Men- 
checourt,  near  Abbeville,  while  the  rest  of  the  skeleton  was 
found  at  a  little  distance.  In  this  case,  therefore,  the  animal 
must  have  been  entombed  before  the  ligaments  had  decayed 
away. 

M.  Casciano  de  Prado  has  made  a  very  similar  discovery 
in  Spain,  not  far  from  Madrid.  There  the  section  was  as 
follows:  First,  vegetable  soil;  then  about  twenty-five  feet  of 
sand  and  pebbles,  under  which  was  a  layer  of  sandy  loam,  in 
which  during  the  year  1850,  a  complete  skeleton  of  the  mam- 
moth was  discovered.  Underneath  this  stratum  was  about 
ten  feet  of  coarse  gravel,  in  which  some  flint  axes,  very 
closely  resembling  those  of  Amiens,  have  been  discovered. 

Finally,  as  regards  the  rhinoceros,  M.  Lartet  assures  us* 
that  some  of  the  bones  bear  the  marks  of  flint  implements; 
nay  more  than  this,  he  has  even  satisfied  himself,  "  by  com- 
parative trials  on  homologous  |)ortions  of  existing  animals, 
that  incisions,  presenting  such  appearances,  could  only  be 
made  in  fresh  bones,  still  retaining  their  cartilage." 

There  is,  then,  no  more  reason  for  believing  that  the  bones 
of  these  extinct  mammalia  were  washed  out  of  earlier  strata 
into  the  drift  gravels,  than  for  attributing  such  an  origin  to 
the  implements  themselves ;  and  we  may,  I  think,  regard  it 
as  well-established,  that  the  mammoth  and  woolly-haired 
rhinoceros,  as  well  as  the  other  above-mentioned  mammalia, 
co-existed  with  the  savages  who  used  the  rude  "  drift 
hatchets,"  at  the  time  when  the  gravels  of  the  Somme  were 
being  deposited. 

The  second  of  the  three  questions  with  which  we  started 
(p.  342)  may  therefore  be  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

Must  we,  then,  carry  man  back  far  into  the  past,  or  may 
we  retain  our  date  for  the  origin  of  the  human  race  by  bring- 
ing the  extinct  animals  down  to  comparatively  recent  times  ":' 
*  Geological  Joum.  vol.  xvi.  p.  471. 


CUARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    DRIFT    BEDS. 


363 


Fig.  201. 


The  absence  of  all  tradition  of  the  elephant 
and  rhinoceros  in  Europe  carries  us  back 
far  indeed  in  years,  but  a  little  way  only,    ^ 
when  measured  by  geological  standards,  «* 
and  we  must  therefore  solve  this  question  g  |> 
by  examining  the  drift  gravels  themselves,  tq^ 
the  materials  of  which  they  are  composed, 
and  the  positions  which  they  occupy,  so  as 
to  determine,  if  possible,  the  conditions 
under  which  they  were  deposited,  and  the 
lapse  of  time  which  they  indicate. 

Fig.  201  gives  a  section  across  the 
valley  of  the  Somme  at  Abbeville,  taken 
from  the  memoir  in  the  Philosophical 
Transactions*,  by  Mr.  Prestwich,  who  has 
long  studied  the  quaternary  beds,  and  has 
done  more  than  any  other  man  to  render 
them  intelligible.  We  should  find  almost 
the  same  arrangement  and  position  of  the 
different  beds,  not  only  at  St.  Acheul,  but 
elsewhere  along  the  valley  of  the  Somme, 
wherever  the  higher  beds  of  gravel  have 
not  been  removed  by  subsequent  action 
of  the  river.  Even  at  St.  Valery,  at  the 
present  mouth  of  the  river,  I  found  a  bed 
of  gravel  at  a  considerable  height  above  ^ 
the  level  of  the  sea.  Tliis  would  seem  to  -5 
show  that  at  the  period  of  those  high-level 

gravels,  the  Euglish  Channel  was  narrower      y         stj&. |^ 

than  it  is  at  present,  as  indeed  we  know     ^  "*         i 

to  have  been  the  case  even  in  historical 
times.     So  early  as  1605  our  countryman  ^tt™n7e"at  A^InnL"' 
Verstegan    pointed  that   the  waves  and  tides  were   eating 

•  Phil.  Trans,  1860. 


364  PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY    OP    THE    SOMME    VALLEY. 

away  our  coasts.  Sir  C.  Lyell*  gives  much  information  on 
this  subject,  and  it  appears  that,  even  so  lately  as  the  reign 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  the  town  of  Brighton  occupied  the  site 
of  the  present  Chain  Pier. 

Mr.  Prestwich  has  pointed  outf  that  a  section,  similar  to 
that  of  the  Somme,  is  presented  by  the  Lark,  Waveney, 
Ouse,  etc.,  while  it  is  well  shown  also  along  the  banks  of  the 
Seine.  Probably,  indeed,  it  holds  good  of  most  of  our  rivers, 
that  along  the  sides  of  their  valleys  are  patches  of  old  gravels 
left  by  the  stream  at  various  heights,  before  they  had  ex- 
cavated the  channels  to  their  present  depth.  Mr.  Prestwich 
considers  that  the  beds  of  sand  and  gravel  can  generally  be 
divided  into  two  more  or  less  distinct  series,  one  continuous 
along  the  bottom  of  the  valleys  and  rising  little  above  the 
water  level — these  he  calls  the  low-level  gravels ;  the  other, 
which  he  terms  the  upper  or  high-level  gravels,  occurring  in 

Fig.  202. 


..„._.-^ 


Section  at  St,  Acheul. 


detached  masses  at  an  elevation  of  from  fifty  to  two  hundred 
feet  above  the  valley:  They  seem  to  me,  on  the  contrary, 
only  the  two  extremes  of  a  single  series,  once  continuous,  but 
now  generally  presenting  numerous  interruptions.  A  more 
magnified  view  of  the  strata  at  St.  Acheul,  near  Amiens,  is 
shown  in  fig  202.  The  upper  layer  of  vegetable  soil  having 
been  removed,  we  have — 

*  See  Principles  of  Geology,  p.  315.  t  Pliil'  Trans.  1864. 


ST,    ACHEUL.  365 

1.  A  bed  of  brick  earth  (a)  from  four  to  five  feet  in  thick- 
ciess,  and  containing  a  few  angular  flints. 

2.  Below  this  is  a  thin  layer  of  angular  gravel  {h),  one  to 
two  feet  in  thickness. 

3.  Still  lower  is  a  bed  of  sandy  marl  (c),  five  to  six  feet 
thick,  with  land  and  freshwater  shells,  which,  though  very 
delicate,  are  in  most  cases  perfect. 

4.  At  the  bottom  of  all  these,  and  immediately  overlying 
the  chalk,  is  the  bed  of  partially  rounded  gravel  {d)  in  which 
principally  the  flint  implements  are  found.  This  layer  also 
contains  many  well-rolled  tertiary  pebbles. 

In  the  early  Christian  period  this  spot  was  used  as  a 
cemetery  :  the  graves  generally  descend  into  the  marly  sand, 
and  their  limits  are  very  distinctly  marked,  as  in  fig.  202/; 
an  important  fact,  as  showing  that  the  rest  of  the  strata  have 
lain  undisturbed  for  1500  years.  Some  of  the  coffins  were 
of  hard  chalk  (fig.  202  c),  some  of  wood,  in  which  latter  case 
the  nails  and  clamps  only  remain,  every  particle  of  wood 
having  perished,  without  leaving  even  a  stain  behind. 
Passing  down  the  hill  towards  the  river,  all  these  strata 
are  seen  to  die  out,  and  we  find  ourselves  on  the  bare  chalk ; 
but  again  at  a  lower  level  occurs  another  bed  of  gravel, 
resembling  the  first,  and  capped  also  by  the  bed  of  brick 
earth  which  is  generally  known  as  loess.  This  lower  bed  of 
gravel  is  that  called  by  Mr.  Prestwich  the  lower-level  gravel. 

These  strata,  therefore,  are  witnesses ;  but  of  what  ?  Are 
they  older  than  the  valley,  or  the  valley  than  they  ?  are  they 
the  result  of  causes  still  in  operation,  or  the  ofispring  of 
cataclysms  now,  happily,  at  an  end  ? 

If  we  can  show  that  the  present  river,  somewhat  swollen 
perhaps,  owing  to  the  greater  extension  of  forests  in  ancient 
times,  and  by  an  alteration  of  climate,  has  excavated  the 
present  valley,  and  produced  the  strata  above  enumerated ; 
then  "  the  suggestion  of  an  antiquity  for  the  human  family 


366  ST.    ACHEUL. 

SO  remote  as  is  here  implied,  in  tlie  lengtli  of  ages  required 
by  the  gentle  rivers  and  small  streams  of  eastern  France  to* 
erode  its  whole  plain  to  the  depths  at  which  they  now  flow, 
acquires,  it  must  be  confessed,  a  fascinating  grandeur,  when, 
by  similitude  of  feature  and  geology,  we  extend  the  hypo- 
thesis to  the  whole  north-west  frontiers  of  the  continent,  and 
assume,  that  from  the  estuary  of  the  Seine  to  the  eastern 
shores  of  the  Baltic,  every  internal  featm'e  of  valley,  dale  and 
ravine — in  short,  the  entire  intaglio  of  the  surface — has  been 
moulded  by  running  waters,  since  the  advent  of  the  human 
race*." 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  maintained  that  the 
pliant  facts  may  be  read  as  "expressions  of  violent  and 
sudden  mutations,  only  compatible  with  altogether  briefer 
periods."  The  argument  of  the  Paroxysmist,  I  still  quote 
from  Blackwood,  would  probably  be  something  like  the 
following : — 

"  Assuming  the  pre-existing  relief,  or  excavation  rather,  of 
the  surface  to  have  approximated  to  that  now  prevailing,  he 
will  account  for  the  gravel  by  supposing  a  sudden  rocking 
movement  of  the  lands  and  the  bottom  of  the  sea  of  the 
nature  of  an  earthquake,  or  a  succession  of  them,  to  have 
launched  a  portion  of  the  temporarily  uplifted  waters  upon 
the  surface  of  the  land." 

Let  us,  however,  examine  the  strata,  and  see  whether  the 
evidence  they  give  is  in  reality  so  confused  and  contradictory. 

Taking  the  section  at  St.  Acheul  and  commencing  at  the 
bottom,  we  have  first  of  all  the  partially  rounded  high-level 
gravel,  throughout  which,  and  especially  at  the  lower  part, 
the  flint  implements  occur. 

These  beds  but  rarely  contain  vegetable  remains.  Large 
pieces  of  the  oak,  yew,  and  fir,  have,  however,  been  deter- 
mined at  Hoxne.  The  mammalia,  also,  are  but  few;  the 
*  Blackwood  s  Magazine,  October,  1860. 


ORGANIC    REMAINS.  *  3G7 

mammoth,  the  Elephas  antiquus,  with  species  of  Bos,  Cennis, 
and  Eiiiius  are  the  only  ones  wliich  have  yet  occurred  at 
St.  Acheul,  though  beds  of  the  same  age  in  other  parts  of 
England  and  France  have  added  the  Ehinoceros  tichorhinus, 
the  reindeer,  and  several  other  species.  The  mollusca  are 
more  numerous;  they  have  been  identified  by  Mr.  J.  G. 
Jeffreys,  who  finds  in  the  upper-level  gravel  thirty-six  species, 
all  of  them  land  or  freshwater  forms,  and  all  belonging  to 
existing  species.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  these 
shells  are  not  found  in  the  coarse  gravel,  but  only  here  and 
there,  where  quieter  conditions,  indicated  by  a  seam  of  finer 
materials,  have  preserved  them  from  destruction.  Here, 
therefore,  we  have  a  conclusive  answer  to  the  suggestion 
that  the  gravel  may  have  been  heaped  up  to  its  present 
height  by  a  sudden  irruption  of  the  sea.  In  that  case  we 
should  find  some  marine  remains ;  but  as  we  do  not,  as  all 
the  fossils  belong  to  animals  which  live  on  the  land,  or 
inhabit  fresh  waters,  it  is  at  once  evident  that  this  stratum, 
not  being  subaerial,  must  be  a  freshwater  deposit,  and  as  the 
most  delicate  shells  are  entire,  it  is  equally  evident  that  they 
were  deposited  in  tranquil  water,  and  not  by  a  cataclysm. 

But  the  gravel  itself  tells  us  even  more  than  this  :  the 
river  Somme  flows  through  a  country  in  which  there  are  no 
rocks  older  than  the  chalk,  and  the  gravel  in  its  valley  con- 
sists entirely  of  chalk  flints  and  tertiary  debris*.  The  Seine, 
on  the  other  hand,  receives  tributaries  which  drain  other 
formations.  In  the  valley  of  the  Yonne  we  find  fragments  of 
the  crystalline  rocks  brought  from  the  Morvanf.  llie  Aube 
runs  through  cretaceous  and  Jurassic  strata,  and  the  gravels 
along  its  valley  are  entirely  composed  of  materials  derived 
from  these  formations.  The  valley  of  the  Oise  is  in  this 
respect  particularly  instructive  :  "De  Maquenoise  a  HirsonJ 

•  Buteux,  1.  c.  p.  98.  t  D'Archiac,  Progres  de  la  Geologic,  p.  163. 

J  D'Archiac,  1.  c.  p.  155, 


368  MINEEALOGICAL   CONSTITUENTS. 

la  vallee  ne  presente  que  des  fragments  plus  ou  moins 
roules  des  roches  de  transition  que  traverse  le  cours  de 
la  riviere.  En  descendant  a  Etreaupont,  on  y  trouve  des 
calcaires  jurassiques  et  des  silex  de  la  craie^  formations 
qui  ont  succede  aux  roclies  anciennes.     A  Guise,  le  depot 

erratique est  compose  de  quartzites  et  de  schistes 

de  transition  de  quelques  gres  plus  recents,  de  silex  de 
la  craie,  et  sm-tout  de  quartz   laiteux,  dont  le  volume  varie 

depuis  celui  de  la  tete  jusqu'a  celui  de  grains  de  sable 

Au  del^  les  fragments  de  roches  anciennes  diminuent  gra- 
duellement  en  volume  et  en  nombre/^  At  Paris  the 
granitic  debris  brought  down  by  the  Yonne  forms  a  notable 
proportion  of  the  gi-avelj  and  at  Precy,  near  Creil  on  the 
OisOj  the  fragments  of  the  ancient  rocks  are  abundant ;  but 
lower  down  the  Seine  at  Mantes,  they  are  smaller  and  less 
numerous,  while  at  Rouen  and  Pont  de  FArche  I  found  none, 
though  a  longer  search  would  doubtless  have  shown  frag- 
ments of  them.  This  case  of  the  Oise  is,  however,  interesting, 
not  only  on  account  of  the  valuable  evidence  contained  in 
the  above  quotation ;  but  because,  though  the  river  flows,  as 
a  glance  at  the  map  will  show,  immediately  across  and  at 
right  angles  to  the  Somme,  yet  none  of  the  ancient  rocks 
which  form  the  valley  of  the  Oise  have  supplied  any  debris  to 
the  vaUey  of  the  Somme  :  and  this,  though  the  two  rivers 
are  at  one  point  within  six  miles  of  one  another,  and 
separated  by  a  ridge  only  eighty  feet  in  height. 

The  same  division  occurs  between  the  Seine  and  the  L-oire  : 
"  Bien  que  la  ligne  de  partage  des  eaux  de  la  Loire  et  de 
la  Seine,  entre  St.  Amand  (Nievre)  et  Artenay,  au  nord 
d^ Orleans,  soit  a  peine  sensible,  aucun  debris  de  roches 
venant  du  centre  de  la  France,  par  la  vallee  de  la  Loire  n'est 
passe  dans  le  bassin  de  la  Seine*." 

In  the  Vivarais  near  Auvergne,  "Les  depots  diluviens 
*  D'Aicliiac,  1.  c.  p.  164. 


! 


OBJECTIONS   TO    THE    PROPOSED    THEORY.  369 

sent  composes  des  memes  roches  que  celles  qae  los  rivieres 
actuelles  entrainent  dans  les  vallees,  et  sent  les  debris  des 
scules  montagnes  de  la  Lozin,  du  Tanargue  et  du  Mezene, 
qui  entourent  le  bassin  du  Vivarais*." 

Again, 

"  Le  diluvium  des  vallees  de  I'Aisne  et  de  I'Aire  ne  ren- 
ferme  que  les  debris  plus  ou  moins  roules  des  terrains  que 
ces  rivieres  coupent  dans  leur  coursf." 

Finally,  Mr.  Prcstwicli  has  pointed  out  that  the  same 
thing  holds  good  in  various  English  rivers.  The  conclusion 
deduced  by  M.  D'Archiac  from  the  consideration  of  these 
observations,  and  specially  from  those  concerning  the  valley 
of  the  Seine,  is  "  Que  los  courants  diluviens  ne  venaient 
point  d'une  direction  unique,  mais  qu'ils  convergaient  des 
bords  du  bassin  vers  son  centre,  suivant  les  depressions  pre- 
existantes,  et  qiie  leur  elevation  ou  leur  force  de  transport  ne 
siiffisait  pas  pour  faire passer  les  debris  qu'ils  charriaient  d'une 
de  ces  vallees  dans  l'autre1[.." 

Considering,  however,  all  these  facts,  remembering  that 
the  constituents  of  these  river-drift  gravels,  are,  in  all  cases, 
derived  from  beds  now  in  situ  along  the  valley,  that  they 
have  not  only  followed  the  lines  of  these  valleys,  but  have 
done  so  in  the  direction  of  the  present  waterflow,  and 
without  in  any  case  passing  across  from  one  river  system 
to  another,  it  seems  quite  unnecessary  to  call  in  the  assistance 
of  diluvial  waves,  or  indeed  any  other  agency  than  that  of 
the  rivers  themselves. 

There  are,  however,  certain  facts  in  the  case  which  have 
been  regarded  by  most  geologists  as  fatal  to  this  hypothesis, 
and  which  prevented  M.  D'Archiac,  as  well  as  the  French 
geologists  generally,  from  adopting  an  explanation  appa- 
rently so  simple  and  so  obvious.     These  difficulties  appear 

•  D'Archiac,  1.  c.  p.  160.  f  Malbos.  Bull.  Geol.  vol.  iii.  p.  631. 

t  1.  c.  p.  163. 


370  OBJECTIONS    TO    THE    PROPOSED   THEOET. 

to  have  been  twofold;  or  at  least  tlie  two  principal  were, 
firstly,  tlie  large  sandstone  blocks  which  are  scattered, 
throughout  the  river  gravels  of  Northern  and  Central  France; 
and  secondly,  the  height  at  which  the  upper -level  gi'avels 
stand  above  the  present  water-line.  We  will  consider  these 
two  objections  separately. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  presence  of  the  sandstone 
blocks  in  the  gravels  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  irreconcilable 
with  om*  hypothesis.  In  some  places  they  occur  frequently, 
and  are  of  considerable  size ;  the  largest  I  have  myself  seen 
is  represented  in  the  section,  fig.  203,  taken  close  to  the 
railway-station  at  JoinviUe.     It  was  8ft.  Gin.  in  length,  with 

Fig.  203. 


Section  at  JoinviUe. 


a  width  of  2ft.  Sin.  and  a  thickness  of  3ft.  4in.  Even  when 
we  remember  that  at  the  time  of  its  deposition  the  valley  was 
not  excavated  to  its  present  depth,  we  must  still  feel  that  a 
body  of  water  with  power  to  move  such  masses,  as  these  must 
have  been  very  difierent  from  any  floods  now  occurring  in 
those  valleys,  and  might  fairly  deserve  the  name  of  a 
cataclysm.  But  whence  could  we  obtain  so  great  a  quantity 
of  water?  We  have  already  seen  that  the  gravel  of  the 
Oise,  though  so  near,  is  entirely  unlike  that  of  the  Somm^, 
while  that  of  the  Seiue,  again,  is  quite  difierent  from  that  of 
any  of  the  neighbouring  rivers.  These  rivers,  therefore, 
cannot  have  drained  a  larger  area  than  at  present ;  the  river 


ICE   ACTION.  0/1 

systems  must  have  been  the  same  as  now.  Nor  would  the 
supposition^  after  all,  account  for  the  phenomena.  We 
should  but  fall  from  Scylla  into  Charybdis.  Around  the 
blocks  we  see  no  evidence  of  violent  action;  in  the  section 
at  Joinville,  the  grey  subangular  gi'avel  passed  under  the 
large  block  above-mentioned,  with  scarcely  any  traces  of  dis- 
turbance. But  a  flood  which  could  bring  down  so  great  a 
mass  would  certainly  have  swept  away  the  comparatively 
light  and  movable  gravel  below.  We  cannot,  therefore, 
account  for  the  phenomena  by  aqueous  action,  because  a 
flood  which  would  deposit  the  sandstone  blocks  would  re- 
move the  underlying  gravel,  and  a  flood  which  would  deposit 
the  gravel  would  not  move  the  blocks.  The  Deus  ex  ma- 
china  has  not  only  been  called  in  most  unnecessarily,  but, 
when  examined,  turns  out  to  be  but  an  idol  after  all. 

Driven,  then,  to  seek  some  other  explanation  of  the  diffi- 
culty, Mr.  Prestwich  falls  back  on  that  of  floating  ice.  Here 
we  have  an  agency  which  would  satisfactorily  explain  all 
the  difficulties  of  the  case.  The  "  packing  '*  and  propelling 
action  of  ice  would  also  account  for  some  irregularities  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  beds  which  are  very  difficult  otherwise 
to  understand.  We  are,  indeed,  irresistibly  reminded  of  the 
figure  given  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell*  from  a  view  taken  by 
Lieut.  Bowen,  of  the  boulders  drifted  by  ice  on  the  shores 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Sir  C.  Lyell's  work  is  in  the  hands 
of  almost  every  geologist,  and  it  will,  perhaps,  therefore, 
be  unnecessary  for  me  to  quote  the  accompanying  descrip- 
tion, accurately  as  it  portrays  what  must,  we  think,  have 
been  taking  place  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme  thousands 
of  years  ago,  just  as  it  does  in  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence  at 
the  present  time.  Nor  is  it  the  physical  evidence  only, 
which  points  to  an  arctic  climate  during  the  period  now 

•  Principles,  1853,  p.  220. 


372  FRESHWATER    ORIGIN    OF   THE    GRAVELS. 

under  consideration;  the  fauna^  as  we  have   already   seen, 
tells  the  same  tale. 

But  though,  the  presence  of  the  sandstone  blocks  and  the 
occasional  contortions  of  the  strata  are  in  perfect  accordance 
with  the  view  of  Mr.  Prestwich,  that  the  gravels  have  been 
deposited  by  the  rivers,  our  second  dijfficulty  still  remains — 
namely,  the  height  at  which  the  upper-level  gravels  stand 
above  the  present  water-line.  We  cannot  wonder  that  these 
beds  have  generally  been  attributed  to  violent  cataclysms. 

M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  was  always  of  this  opinion.  '^  Ce 
coquillage,^^  he  says,  "  cet  elephant,  cette  hache,  ou  la  main 
qui  la  fabriqua,  furent  done  temoins  du  cataclysme  qui  donna 
h.  notre  pays  sa  configuration  presente*." 

M.  C.  D'Orbigny,  observing  that  the  fossils  found  in  these 
quaternary  beds  are  all  either  of  land  or  freshwater  animals, 
wisely  dismisses  the  theory  of  any  marine  action,  and  ex- 
presses himself  as  follows  : — "  En  eflfet  Fopinion  de  la  plupart 
des  geologues  est  que  les  cataclysmes  diluviens  ont  eu  pour 
causes  predominantes  de  fortes  oscillations  de  I'ecorce  ter- 
restre,  des  soulevements  de  montagnes  au  milieu  de  I'ocean, 
d'ou  seraient  resultees  de  grandes  erosions.  Par  consequent 
les  puissants  courants  d'eau  marine,  auxquels  on  attribue  ces 
erosions  diluviennes,  auraient  du  laisser  sur  les  continents 
des  traces  authentiques  de  leur  passage,  tels  que  de  nom- 
breux  debris  de  coquilles,  de  poissons  et  autres  animaux 
marins  analogues  h,  ceux  qui  vivent  actuellement  dans  la 
mer.  Or,  ainsi  que  M.  Cordier  Fa  fait  remarquer  depuis 
longtemps  h,  son  cours  de  geologic,  rien  de  semblable  n'a  ete 
constate.  Sur  tons  les  points  du  globe  oii  Fon  a  etudie  les 
depots  diluviens,  on  a  reconnu  que,  sauf  quelques  rares  ex- 
ceptions tres  contestables,  il  n^existe  dans  ces  depots  aucun 
fossile  marin : '  ou  bien  ce  sont  des  fossiles  arraches  aux 
terrains  preexistants,  dont  la  denudation  a  fourni  les  ma- 
*  Mem.  Soc.  d'Em.  rAbbeville,  1861,  p.  475. 


•  INAPPLICABILITY    OF   CATACLYSMS.  373 

t^riaux  qui  composent  le  diluvium.  En  sorte  que  les  depots 
diluviens  semblent  avoir  eu  pour  cause  des  phenomenes 
meteorologiques,  et  paraissent  etre  le  resultat  d'immenses 
inondations  d'eau  douce  et  non  d'eau  marine,  qui,  se  pre- 
cipitant des  points  eleves  vers  la  mer,  auraient  denude  une 
grande  partie  de  la  surface  du  sol,  balaye  la  generalite  des 
etres  organises  et  pour  ainsi  dire  nivele,  coordonne  les  bassins 
bydrograpliiques  actuels*." 

Such  cataclysms,  however,  as  those  thus  suggested  by 
M.  D'Orbigny,  and  many  other  French  geologists,  even  if 
admitted,  would  not  account  for  the  results  before  us.  We 
have  seen  that  the  transport  of  materials  have  not  followed 
any  single  direction,  but  has  in  all  cases  followed  the  lines  of 
the  present  valleys,  and  the  direction  of  the  present  water- 
flow  ;  that  the  rocks  of  one  valley  are  never  transported  into 
another ;  that  the  condition  of  the  loess  is  irreconcilable  with 
a  great  rush  of  water ;  while,  finally,  the  perfect  preservation 
of  many  of  the  most  delicate  shells  is  clear  proof  that  the 
phenomena  are  not  due  to  violent  or  cataclysmic  action. 

We  must,  moreover,  bear  in  mind  that  the  gravels  and 
sands  are  themselves  both  the  proof  and  the  results  of  an 
immense  denudation.  In  a  chalk  country,  such  as  that 
through  which  the  Somme  flows,  each  cubic  foot  of  flint, 
gravel,  or  sand,  represents  the  removal  of,  at  the  very  least, 
twenty  cubic  feet  of  chalk,  all  of  which,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  must  have  been  removed  from  the  present  area  of 
drainage.  In  considering,  therefore,  the  formation  of  these 
upper  and  older  gi'avels,  we  must  not  picture  to  ourselves  the 
original  valley  as  it  now  is,  but  must,  m  imagination,  restore 
all  that  immense  mass  of  chalk  which  has  been  destroyed  in 
the  formation  of  the  lower-level  gravels  and  sands.  Mr. 
Prestwich  has  endeavoured  to  illustrate  this  by  a  diagram  f, 

*  C.  D'Orbigny,  Bui.  Geo.  2iid  eer.  V.  xvii.  p.  6.  See  also  D'Archiac,  1.  o. 
passim.  f  Proceed.  Roy.  Soc.  p.  1862,  p.  41, 


374  ALTERATION   OP   THE    RIVER    LEVEL.  . 

and  I  must  once  more  rep^t  that  this  is  no  mere  hypotliesis, 
since  the  mass  of  sand  and  gravel  cannot  have  been  pro- 
duced without  an  immense  removal  of  the  chalk.  On  the 
whole,  then,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  the  upper-level 
gravels  were  deposited  by  the  existing  river,  before  it  had 
excavated  the  valley  to  its  present  depth  and  when  conse- 
quently it  ran  at  a  level  considerably  higher  than  the 
present. 

Far,  therefore,  from  requiring  an  immense  flood  of  water, 
two  hundred  feet  in  depth,  the  accumulation  of  the  gravel 
may  have  been  effected  by  an  annual  volume  of  water,  difler- 
ing  little  from  that  of  the  present  river. 

A  given  quantity  of"  water  will,  however,  produce  very 
different  effects,  according  to  the  rapidity  with  which  it  flows. 
"  We  learn  from  observation,  that  a  velocity  of  three  inches 
per  second  at  the  bottom  will  just  begin  to  work  upon  flue 
clay  fit  for  pottery,  and  however  firm  and  compact  it  may  be, 
it  will  tear  it  up.  Yet  no  beds  are  more  stable  than  clay 
when  the  velocities  do  not  exceed  this :  for.  the  water  even 
takes  away  the  impalpable  particles  of  the  superficial  clay, 
leaving  the  particles  of  sand  sticking  by  their  lower  half  in 
the  rest  of  the  clay,  which  they  now  protect,  making  a  very 
permanent  bottom,  if  the  stream  does  not  bring  down  gravel 
or  coarse  sand,  which  will  rub  off  this  very  thin  crust,  and 
allow  another  layer  to  be  worn  off.  A  velocity  of  six  inches 
will  lift  fine  sand,  eight  inches  will  lift  sand  as  coarse 
as  linseed,  twelve  inches  will  sweep  along  fine  gravel, 
twenty-four  inches  will  roll  along  rounded  pebbles  an  inch 
diameter,  and  it  requires  three  feet  per  second  at  the 
bottom  to  sweep  along  shivery  angular  stones  of  the  size  of 
an  egg^." 

If,  therefore,  we  are  justified  in  assuming  a  colder  climate 
than  that  now  existing,  we  should  much  increase  the  erosive 
*  Cyc.  Brit.  Article  "  Rivers,"  p.  274. 


aiiADUAL   EXCAVATION   OP   THE    VALLEY.  375 

action  of  tlic  river,  not  only  because  the  rains  would  fall  on 
a  frozen  surface,  but  because  the  rainfall  of  the  winter  months 
would  accumulate  on  the  high  grounds  in  the  form  of  ice  and 
snow,  and  would  every  spring  produce  floods  much  greater 
than  any  which  now  occur*. 

We  now  come  to  the  light-coloured  marl  (fig.  202  c,  p.  364). 
It  is  composed,  according  to  Mr.  Prestwich,  as  follows  :  Of 
white  siliceous  sand  and  light-coloured  marl,  mixed  with 
fine  chalk  grit,  a  few  large  sub -angular  flints,  and  an  oc- 
casional sandstone  block,  irregular  patches  of  flint  gravel, 
bedding  waved  and  contorted,  here  and  there  layers  with 
diagonal  seams,  a  few  ochreous  bands,  portions  concreted. 
Sand  and  freshwater  shells  common,  some  mammahan 
remains. 

In  the  pits  at  Amiens  this  bed  is  generally  distinct  from 
the  underlying  gravels,  owing  perhaps  to  the  upper  portion 
of  the  gravel  having  been  removed;  but  in  several  places 
(Precy,  Ivi'y,  Bicetre,  etc.)  this  section  is  complete,  the 
coarser  gravel  below  becoming  finer  and  finer,  and,  at  length, 
passing  above  into  siliceous  sand.  These  sections  evidently 
indicate  a  gradual  loss  of  power  in  the  water  at  these  parti- 
cular spcfts;  rapid  enough  at  first  to  bring  down  large 
pebbles,  its  force  became  less  and  less  until  at  length  it  was 
only  able  to  carry  fine  sand.  This,  therefore,  appears  to 
indicate  a  slight  change  in  the  course  of  the  river,  and 
gradual  excavation  of  the  valley,  which,  by  supplying  the 
floods  with  a  lower  bed,  left  the  waters  at  this  height  with  a 
gradually  diminishing  force  and  velocity. 

The  upper  part  of  the  section  at  St.  Acheul  consists  of 
brick  earth  (fig.  202  a),  passing  below  into  angular  gravel, 
while  between  this  and  the  underlying  sandy  marl  is  some- 
times a  small  layer  of  darker  brick  earth.  These  beds,  how- 
ever, vary  much  evpn   in  adjoining  sections.     Taken  as  a 

*  See  Murcliison's  Geology  of  Russia  and  the  Ural  Mountains,  p.  572. 


376  THE    LO WEE- LEVEL   GEAVEL-BEDS. 

whole,  they- are  regarded  by  Mr.  Prestwich  as  the  represen- 
tatives of  that  remarkable  loamy  deposit  which  is  found 
overlying  the  gravels  in  all  these  valleys  of  Northern  France, 
and  which,  as  the  celebrated  "  loess  "  of  the  Rhine,  attains  in 
some  places  a  thickness  of  three  hundred  feet.  The  greatest 
development  of  it  which  I  have  seen  in  the  north  of  France 
was  in  a  pit  in  the  Rue  de  la  Chevalerie,  near  Ivry,  where  it 
was  twenty-two  feet  thick;  some  of  this,  however,  may  have 
been  reconstructed  loess  brought  down  by  rain  from  the 
higher  ground  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood.  Assuming 
that  this  loess  is  composed  of  fine  particles  deposited  from 
standing  or  slowly-moving  waters,  we  might  be  disposed  to 
wonder  at  not  finding  in  it  any  traces  of  vegetable  remains. 
We  know,  however,  from  the  arrangement  of  the  nails  and 
hasps,  that  in  some  of  the  St.  Acheul  tombs  wooden  coffins 
were  used,  while  the  size  of  the  nails  shows  that  the  planks 
must  have  been  tolerably  thick;  yet  every  trace  of  wood  has 
been  removed,  and  not  even  a  stain  is  left  to  indicate  its 
presence.  We  need  not,  therefore,  wonder  at  the  absence  of 
vegetable  remains  in  the  drift. 

Such  is  a  general  account  of  those  gravel-pits  which  lie  at 
a  height  of  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  present  water-level  of  the  valleys,  and  which  along  the 
Somme  are  found  in  some  places  even  at  a  height  of  two 
hundred  feet. 

Let  us  now  visit  some  of  the  pits  at  the  lower  levels.  At 
about  thirty  feet  lower,  as  for  instance  at  Menchecourt,  near 
Abbeville,  and  at  St.  Eoch,  near  Amiens,  where  the  gravel 
slopes  from  a  height  of  sixty  feet  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
valley,  we  find  almost  a  repetition  of  the  same  succession ; 
coarse  sub-angular  gravel  below,  finer  materials  above.  So 
similar,  indeed,  are  these  beds  to  those  already  described, 
that  it  will  be  unnecessary  for  me  to  give  any  special  descrip- 
tion of  them. 


i 
] 


THEIR    FAUNA. 


377 


It  seems  Mglily  probable  that  when  the  fauna  and  flora 
of  the  upper  and  lower-level  gravels  shall  have  been  more 
thoroughly  investigated^  they  will  be  found  to  be  almost 
identical.  At  present,  however,  the  species  obtained  from 
the  lower-level  gravels  are  more  numerous  than  those  from 
the  upper  levels. 

Mr.  Prestwich  gives  the  following  table  of  the  mammalia  : 


BEDFORD. 

Great  Northern 

Railway,  or 

Summerliouse 

Hill. 

ABBEVILLE. 
Menchecourt. 

AMIENS. 
St.  Roch. 

PARIS. 

Grenelle,  Ivry, 

Clichy,  or  the 

Rue  de  Reuilly. 

Elephas  primigenius,  Blum.  . 

* 

* 

* 

* 

antiquus,  Falc 

*S 

* 

*c 

Rhinoceros  tichorhinus,  Cuv. 

*r 

* 

* 

— • —  mcgarhinus,  Christol. . . . 

*r 

*?g 

Ursus  spelaeus,  Blum 

*s 

* 
* 

*?u 
* 

* 

HyaBna  spelaea,  Gold 

Felis  spelaea,  Qold 

*? 

* 
* 

* 

Bos  primigenius,  Boj 

Bison  prisons,  Boj 

*r 

* 

*c 

Equus  (possibly  two  species) 

* 

* 

* 

* 

Ccrvus  euryccros,  Aldr 

*r 

elaphus,  Linn. 

* 

* 

* 

* 

tarandus,  Linn 

* 

* 

*c 

Hippopotamus  major,  Nesti... 

* 

* 

*9 

SU3 

*r 

* 

To  this  list  we  may  add  the  lemming,  the  My  odes  torquatus, 
and  the  musk  ox,  which  has  been  found  at  two  spots  in  the 
Thames  valley,  as  well  as  at  Chauny  on  the  Oise. 

The  moUusca  are  fifty-two  in  number,  of  which  forty-two 
now  live  in  Sweden,  thirty-seven  in  Finland,  and  thirty-eight 
in  Lombardy.  Boariug  in  mind  that  Lombardy  is  much 
richer  than  Finland  in  mollusca,  this  assemblage  has  rather 
a  northern  aspect. 


378  THE    PEAT. 

In  such,  a  group  of  species  as  tMs  tlie  hippopotamus  seems 
singularly  out  of  place,  and  in  the  preceding  chapter  I  have 
discussed  the  conclusions  which  are,  I  think,  to  be  drawn 
from  its  presence ;  taking  the  fauna  as  a  whole,  however, 
and  looking  more  especially  to  such  animals  as  the  musk  ox, 
the  reindeer,  the  lemming,  the  Myodes  torquatus,  the  Sibe- 
rian mammoth,  and  its  faithful  companion  the  woolly-haired 
rhinoceros,  we  have  clear  evidence  of  a  climate  unlike  that 
now  prevailing  in  Western  Europe. 

Finally,  the  lowest  portion  of  the  valley  is  at  present  occu- 
pied by  a  bed  of  gravel,  covered  by  silt  and  peat,  which 
latter  is  in  some  places  more  than  thirty  or  even  forty  feet 
thick,  and  is  extensively  worked  for  fuel.  These  strata  have 
afforded  to  the  antiquaries  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  espe- 
cially to  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  a  rich  harvest  of  interesting 
relics  belonging  to  various  periods.  The  depth  at  which  these 
objects  are  found  has  been  carefully  noted  by  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes. 

""Prenant,"  he  says,  "pour  terme  moyen  du  sol  de  la 
vallee,  une  hauteur  de  2  metres  audessus  du  niveau  de  la 
Somme,  c^est  a  30  k  40  centimetres  de  la  surface  qu'ou 
rencontre  le  plus  abondamment  les  traces  du  moyen-age. 
Cinquante  centimetres  plus  bas,  on  commence  a  trouver  des 
debris  remains,  puis  gallo-romains.  On  continue  a  suivre 
ces  derniers  pendant  un  metre,  c^est  k  dire  jusqu'au  niveau 
de  la  Somme.  Apres  eux,  viennent  les  vestiges  gaulois  purs 
qui  descendent  sans  interruption  jusqu'a  pres  de  2  metres 
audessous  de  ce  niveau,  preuve  de  la  longue  habitation  de  ces 
peuples  dans  la  vallee.  C'est  a  un  metre  plus  bas,  ou  a  4 
metres  environ  audessous  de  ce  meme  niveau,  qu'on  arrive 
au  centre  du  sol  que  nous  avons  nomme  Celtique,  celui  que 
folerent  les  Gaulois  primitives  ou  les  peuples  qui  les  prece- 
derent;"  and  which  belonged,  therefore,  to  the  Neolithic 
period.     It  is,  however,  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  these 


OBJECTS    FOUND    IN   THE    PEAT.  379 

thicknesses  are  only  given  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  "  comme 
termc  approximatif/' 

The  "  Antiquites  Celtiques "  was  published  several  years 
before  the  Swiss  archceologists  had  made  us  acquainted  with 
the  nature  of  the  Pfahlbauten;  but,  from  some  indications 
given  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  it  would  appear  that  there 
must  have  been,  at  one  time,  lake-habitations  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Abbeville.  He  found  considerable  platforms  of 
wood,  with  large  quantities  of  bones,  stone  implements,  and 
handles  closely  resembling  those  which  come  from  the  Swiss 
lake -villages. 

These  weapons  cannot  for  an  instant  be  confounded  with 
the  ruder  ones  from  the  drift-gravel.  They  are  ground  to  a 
smooth  surface  and  a  cutting  edge,  while  those  of  the  more 
ancient  types  are  merely  chipped,  not  one  of  the  many  hun- 
dreds already  found  having  shown  the  slightest  trace  of 
grinding.  Yet  though  the  former  belong  to  the  Stone  Age, 
to  a  time  so  remote  that  the  use  of  metal  was  apparently 
still  unknown  in  Western  Europe,  they  are  separated  from 
the  earlier  weapons  of  the  upper-level  drift  by  the  whole 
period  necessary  for  the  excavation  of  the  Somme  Valley, 
to  a  depth  of  more  than  one  hundred  feet. 

If,  therefore,  we  get  no  definite  date  for  the  arrival  of  man 
in  these  countries,  we  can  nt  least  form  a  vivid  idea  of  his 
antiquity.  He  must  have  seen  the  Somme  running  at  a 
height  of  about  a  hundred  feet  above  its  present  level.  It 
is,  indeed,  probable  that  he  dates  back  in  Northern  France 
almost,  if  not  quite,  as  far  as  the  rivers  themselves.  The 
fauna  of  the  country  was  indeed  unlike  what  it  is  now. 
Along  the  banks  of  the  rivers  ranged  a  savage  race  of 
hunters  and  fishermen,  and  in  the  forests  wandered  the 
mammoth,  the  two-homed  woolly  rhinoceros,  a  species  of 
lion,  the  musk  ox,  the  reindeer,  and  the  urus. 

Yet  the  geography  of  France  cannot  have  been  very  dif- 


380  RELATION    OP   THE    LOESS    TO    THE    GRAVEL. 

ferent  from  what  it  is  at  present.  The  present  rivers  ran  in 
their  present  directions,  and  the  sea  even  then  lay  between 
the  Somnie  and  the  Adur,  though  the  channel  was  not  so 
wide  as  it  is  now. 

Gradually  the  river  deepened  its  valley ;  ineffective,  or 
even  perhaps  constructive,  in  autumn  and  winter,  the  melt- 
ing of  the  snows  turned  it  every  spring  into  a  roaring 
torrent.  These  floods  were  perhaps  more  destructive  to 
animals  even  than  man  himself;  while,  however  rude  they 
may  have  been,  our  predecessors  can  hardly  be  supposed  to 
have  been  incapable  of  foreseeing  and  consequently  escaping 
the  danger. 

While  the  water  had  sufficient  force  to  deposit  coarse  gravel 
at  any  given  level,  at  a  still  higher  one  it  would  part  with 
finer  particle's,  and  would  thus  form  the  loess,  which  at  the 
same  time  would  here  and  there  receive  angular  flints  and 
shells  brought  down  from  the  hills  in  a  more  or  less  trans- 
verse direction  by  the  rivulets  after  heavy  rains. 

Mr.  Prestwich  regards  the  difference  of  level  between  the 
upper  gravels  and  the  loess  as  "  a  measure  of  the  floods  of 
that  period."  If  the  gravel-beds  were  complete,  this  would 
no  doubt  be  the  case ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  upper- 
level  gravels  are  mere  fragments  of  an  originally  almost  con- 
tinuous deposit,  and  under  such  circumstances  the  present 
cannot  be  taken  as  evidence  of  the  original  difference. 

As  the  valley  became  deeper  and  deeper  the  gravel  would 
be  deposited  at  lower  and  lower  levels,  the  loess  always  fol- 
lowing it  * ;  thus  we  must  not  consider  the  loess  as  a  dis- 
tinct bed,  but  as  one  which  was  being  formed  during  the 
same  time,  though  never  at  the  same  place,  as  the  beds  of 
gravel.  In  fig.  204  I  have  given  a  diagram,  the  better  to 
illustrate  my  meaning ;  the  loess  is  indicated  by  letters  with 

*  See  Mr.  Prestwich's  paper  read  before  the  Eoyal  Society,  June  19, 1862. 


CONTINUAL   CHANGES    OP    RIVER    COURSES.  381 

a  dash  and  is  dotted,  while  the  gravels  are  represented  as 
rudely  stratified.  In  this  case  I  suppose  the  river  to  have 
run  originally  on  the  level  (1),  and  to  have  deposited  the 
gravel  (a)  and  the  loess  {a') ;  after  a  certain  amount  of 
erosion,  which  would  reduce  the  level  to  (2),  the  gravel 
would  be  spread  out  at  (6),  and  loess  at  {b').  Similarly  the 
loess  (c')  would  be  contemporaneous  with  the  gravel  (c) . 

Fio.  204. 


Diagram  to  show  the  Relations  of  the  Loess  and  the  Gravels. 

Thus,  while  in  each  section  the  lower  beds  would  of  course 
be  the  oldest,  still  the  upper-level  gravels  as  a  whole  would 
be  the  most  ancient,  and  the  beds  lying  in  the  lower  parts  of 
the  valley  the  most  modem. 

For  convenience  I  have  represented  the  sides  of  the  valley 
as  forming  a  series  of  terraces ;  and  though  this  is  not 
actually  the  case,  there  are  places  in  which  such  terraces  do 
occur. 

It  is,  however,  well  known  that  rivers  continually  tend  to 
shift  their  courses ;  nor  is  the  Somme  any  exception  to  the 
rule  ;  the  valleyitself  indeed  is  comparatively  straight,  but 
within  it  the  river  winds  considerably,  and  when  in  one  of 
its  curves,  the  current  crosses  "  its  general  line  of  descent, 
it  eats  out  a  curve  in  the  opposite  bank,  or  in  the  side  of  the 
hills  bounding  the  valley,  from  which  curve  it  is  turned  back 
again  at  an  equal  angle,  so  that  it  recrosses  the  line  of  de- 
scent, and  gradually  hollows  out  another  curve  lower  down 
in  the  opposite  bank,''  till  the  whole  sides  of  the  valley,  or 
river-bed,   "present   a   succession   of  salient   and   retiring 


382  ELEVATION    OP   THE    LAND. 

angles*."  Difring  tliese  wanderings  from  one  side  of  the 
valley  to  tlie  other,  the  river  continually  undermines  and 
removes  the  gravels  which  at  an  earlier  period  it  had  de- 
posited. Thus  the  upper-level  gravels  are  now  only  to  be 
found  here  and  there,  as  it  were,  in  patches,  while  in  many 
parts  they  have  altogether  disappeared ;  as^  for  instance,  on 
the  right  side  of  the  valley  between  Amiens  and  Pont  Remy, 
where  hardly  a  trace  of  the  high-level  gravels  is  to  be  seen. 

The  neighbouring  shores  of  England  and  France  show 
various  traces  of  a  slight  and  recent  elevation  of  the  land. 
Raised  beaches  have  been  observed  at  an  elevation  of  from 
five  to  ten  feet  at  various  points  along  the  coasts  of  Sussex 
and  the  Pas  de  Calais.  Marine  shells  also  occur  at  Abbeville 
about  twenty-five  feet  above  the  sea  level  f^  and  no  doubt 
this  change  of  level  has  had  an  important  bearing  on  the 
excavation  of  the  valley. 

Mr.  A.  Tylor  J,  in  a  recent  memoir,  agrees  with  me  that 
the  upper-level  and  lower-level  gravels  are  merely  the  ex- 
tremes of  a  series,  seldom  complete^  but  generally  imperfect, 
sometimes  in  one  part,  sometimes  in  another.  But  he  also 
maintains  that  the  surface  of  the  chalk  in  the  valley  of  the 
Somme  had  assumed  its  present  form  prior  to  the  deposition 
of  any  of  the  gravel  or  loess  now  existing  in  it.  As,  how- 
ever, he  admits  that  the  materials  forming  this  gravel  and 
loess  are  derived  exclusively  from  the  area  drained  by  the 
Somme  and  its  tributaries,  he  involves  himself  in  a  double 
difiiculty.  In  the  first  place  he  maintains  that  the  materials, 
by  the  removal  of  which  the  valley  was  formed,  were  swept 
•  completely  out  of  the  valley,  which,  considering  its  length, 
depth,  and  narrowness,  appears  to  be  impossible ;  and  in  the 

*  Ijyeirs  Principles,  p.  20G.  be  disposed  to  refer  principally  to  an 

t  The  higher  -level  gravels  in  some  encroachment  of  the  sea  on  the  land, 

places  finnge  the  coast  at  an  eleva-  and  .the  consequent  intersection   of 

tion  of  as  much  as  one  hundred  feet ;  the  old  river-beds  at  a  higher  level, 
this  phenomenon,  however,  I  should  %  Geol.  Journal,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  103. 


EECAPITULATION.  383 

second  place,  the  admission  that  the  gravel  and  sand  consist 
of  flint  debris  brought  down  by  the  Somme  and  its  trilSu- 
tarics,  is  fatal  to  his  argument,  since  you  cannot  remove 
matter  from  one  place  to  another,  without  affecting  the  con- 
figuration of  the  surface  in  both.  In  admitting  then  that 
"the  gravel  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme  at  Amiens  is  partly 
derived  from  debris  brought  down  by  the  river  Somme,  and 
by  the  two  rivers,  the  Celle  and  the  Arve,  and  partly  con^ 
sists  of  material  from  the  adjoining  higher  grounds,  washed 
in  by  land-floods  *,"  Mr.  Tylor  virtually  adopts  the  explana- 
tion of  the  phenomena  given  in  this  work,  since  the  for- 
mation or  removal  of  this  gravel  necessarily  involved  an 
alteration  of  the  surface  and  a  deepening  of  the  valley. 

When  finally  the  excavation  of  the  valley  was  completed, 
the  climate  had  gradually  become  more  like  our  own,  and 
either  from  this  change,  or  rather  perhaps  yielding  to  the 
irresistible  power  of  man,  the  great  Pachydermata  became 
extinct.  Under  the  altered  conditions  of  lev^l,  the  river, 
unable  to  carry  out  to  sea  the  finer  particles  brought  down 
from  the  higher  levels,  deposited  them  in  the  valley,  and 
thus  raised  somewhat  its  general  level,  checking  the  velocity 
of  the  stream,  and  producing  extensive  marshes,  in  which  a 
thick  deposit  of  peat  was  gradually  formed.  .  We  have,  un- 
fortunately, no  trustworthy  means  of  estimating  the  rate  of 
formation  of  this  substance,  which  indeed  varies  considerably, 
according  to  the  conditions  of  the  case,  but  on  any  supposi- 
tion the  production  of  a  mass  in  some  places  more  than 
thirty  feet  in  thickness  must  have  required  a  very  consider- 
able period.  Yet  it  is  in  these  beds  that  we  find  the  remains 
of  the  Neolithic  or  later  Stone  period.  From  the  toifibs  at 
St.  Acheul,  from  the  Roman  remains  found  in  the  superficial 
layers  of  the  peat,  at  about  the  present  level  of  the  river,  we 
know  that  fifteen  hundred  years  have  produced  scarcely  any 

*  1.  c.  p.  105. 


384  RECAPITULATION. 

change  in  the  configuration  of  the  valley.  In  the  peat^  and 
at^  depth  of  about  fifteen  feet  in  the  alluvium  at  Abbeville, 
are  the  remains  of  the  Neolithic  period,  which  we  have 
ample  reason  for  believing,  from  the  researches  in  Denmark, 
Switzerland,  and  other  countries,  to  be  of  no  slight  antiquity. 
Yet  all  these  are  subsequent  to  the  excavation  of  the  valley. 
What  date  then  are  we  to  ascribe  to  the  men  who  lived  when 
the  Somme  was  but  beginning  its  great  task  ?  No  one  can 
properly  appreciate  the  lapse  of  time  indicated,  who  has  not 
stood  on  the  heights  of  Liercourt,  Picquigny,  or  on  one  of  the 
other  points  overlooking  the  valley :  nor,  I  am  sure,  could 
any  geologist  return  from  such  a  visit  without  an  overpower- 
ing sense  of  the  changes  which  have  taken  place,  and  the 
length  of  time  which  must  have  elapsed  since  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  man  in  Western  Europe. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

ON   THE   ANTIQUITY   OF   MAN. 

ALTHOUGH  the  facts  recorded  in  the  preceding  chapters 
have  been  for  the  most  part  discovered  within  a  com- 
paratively recent  period,  it  is  by  no  means  merely  of  late 
years,  or  among  archaeologists  only,  that  the  difficulties  in 
Archbishop  Usher's  chronology  have  been  felt  to  be  in^per- 
•able.  Historians,  philologists,  and  physiologists  have  alike 
admitted  that  the  short  period  allowed  could  hardly  be  recon- 
ciled with  the  history  of  some  eastern  nations ;  that  it  did 
not  leave  room  for  the  development  either  of  the  different 
languages,  or  (assuming  the  unity  of  the  human  race)  for  the 
important  physical  peculiarities,  by  which  the  various  races 
of  men  are  distinguished. 

Thus,  Dr.  Prichard  says,  "  Many  writers  who  have  been 
by  no  means  inclined  to  raise  objections  against  the  authority 
of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  in  particular  Michaelis,  have 
felt  themselves  embarrassed  by  the  shortness  of  the  interval 
between  the  Noachic  Deluge  and  the  period  at*  which  the 
records  of  various  nations  commence,  or  the  earliest  date  to 
which  their  historical  memorials  lead  us  back.  The  extrava- 
gant claims  to  a  remote  and  almost  fathomless  antiquity, 
made  by  the  fabulists  of  many  ancient  nations,  have  vanished 
before  the  touch  of  accurate  criticism ;  but  after  abstracting 
all  that  is  apparently  mythological  from  the  early  traditions 
of  the  Indians,  Egyptians,  and  some  other  nations,  the  pro- 
bable history  of  some  of  them  seems  still  to  I'cach  up  to  a 
27 


386  HISTORICAL   EVIDENCE. 

period  too  remote  to  be  reconciled  with  the  short  chronology 
of  Usher  and  Petavius.  This  has  been  so  universally  felt 
by  all  those  writers  who  have  entered  on  the  investigation 
of  primeval  history  that  it  is  superfluous  to  dwell  upon  the 
subject*." 

Baron  Bunsen,  one  of  the  ablest  among  those  who  regard 
the  various  forms  of  language  as  having  had  a  common 
origin,  is  forced  to  claim  for  the  human  race  an  antiquity  of 
at  least  20,000  years.  Again,  the  ingenious  author  of  "  The 
Genesis  of  the  Earth  and  of  Manf/^  says  truly  that  "one 
of  the  greatest  of  the  difl&culties  that  beset  us  when  we 
endeavour  to  account  for  the  commonly  supposed  descent  of 
all  mankind  from  a  single  pair,  ....  lies  in  the  fact 
of  oua*  finding,  upon  Egyptian  monuments,  mostly  of  the 
thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era,  representations  of  individuals  of  numerous 
nations,  African,  Asiatic,  and  European,  differing  in  phy- 
sical characteristics  as  widely  as  any  equal  number  of  nations 
of  the  present  age  that  could  be  grouped  together;  among 
these  being  negroes,  of  the  true  Nigritian  stamp,  depicted 
with  a  fidelity,  as  to  colour  and  features,  hardly  to  be  sur- 
passed by  an  accomplished  modern  artist.  That  such  diver- 
sities had  been  produced  by  natural  means  in  the  interval 
between  that  remote  age  and  the  time  of  Noah,  probably  no 
one  versed  in  the  sciences  of  anatomy  and  physiology  will 
consider  cf edible,"  and  he  concludes,  therefore,  that  the 
human  race  cannot  have  been  derived  from  a  single  pair. 
For,  just  as  the  philological  difficulties  vdll  not,  of  course, 
affect  thdse  who  accept  literally  the  account  given  in  our 
English  Version  of  the  miraculous  creation  of  languages  at 
the  Tower  of  Babel;  so  in  the  same  way  "the  shortness 
of  the  period  allowed  by  the  received  chronology,  for  the 

*  Prichard,  Eesearolies  into  the  Physical  Hist,  of  Mankind,  vol.  v.  p.  553. 
t  1.  c.  p.  117. 


ETHNOLOGICAL   EVIDENCE.  387 

development  of  those  physical  varieties  which  distinguish 
the  different  races  of  men*,"  though  felt  as  ''  one  of  the 
greatest  difficulties  connected  with  the  opinion  that  all 
mankind  are  descended  from  one  primitive  stock/'  will  not 
affect  those  who  believe  in  the  existence  of  separate  species 
of  men. 

Prof.  Huxley  has  also, deduced  a  very  interesting  argu- 
ment from  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  races  of  men. 
He  divides  mankind  into  four  groups,  the  Australoid,  Ne- 
groid, Mongoloid,  and  Xanthochroid.  The  latter  are  the  fair, 
light-haired,  blue-eyed  people  who  occupy  a  large  part  of 
Europe ;  the  Mongoloid  are  the  Tartar,  American,  and  Poly- 
nesian races ;  the  Negroid  are  the  Negroes,  Hottentots,  and 
Negritos ;  and  the  Australoid  type  contains  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Australia,  and  the  native  races  of  the  Deccan,  with 
whom  he  also  associates  the  Ancient  Egyptians.  Whatever 
difference  of  opinion  may  exist  among  ethnologists  about  the 
other  three  divisions,  still  as  to  the  Negroid  race  most  are 
agreed,  and  this  is  the  one  to  which  I  now  wish  to  call  atten- 
tion. The  geographical  distribution  of  the  Xanthochroid  and 
Mongoloid  races  presents  no  difficulty^  nor  will  I  here  discuss 
that  of  the  Australoid  group.  But  I  entirely  agree  with 
Prof.  Huxley  that  the  present  position  of  the  Negro  race 
cannot  be  explained  excepting  on  the  hypothesis  that  since 
the  appearance  o"f  that  race  immense  geographical  changes 
have  taken  place, — that  continent  has  become  ocean,  and 
sea,  land.  The  negroes  are  essentially  a  non-navigating 
race;  they  build  no  ships,  and  even  the  canoes  of  the  Fee- 
gecans  are  evidently  copied  from  those  of  the  Polynesians. 
Now  what  is  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  race  ? 
They  occupy  all  Africa  south  of  the  Sahara, — which  neither 
they  nor  the  rest  of  the  true  African  fauna  have  ever  crossed, 
and  though  they  do  not  occur  in  Arabia,  Persia,  Hindostan, 
*  Prichard,  1.  c.  p.  552. 


388         EVIDENCE    DERIVABLE    FROM    PHYSICAL    GEOGRAPHY. 

Siam,  or  China,  we  find  tliem  in  Madagascar,  and  in  tlie 
Andaman  Islands, — not  in  Java,  Sumatra,  or  Borneo,  but  in 
the  Malay  peninsular,  in  the  Philippines,  New  Guinea,  the 
New  Hebrides,  New  Caledonia,  the  Feegee  Islands,  and  in 
Tasmania. 

This  remarkable  distribution  is  perhaps  most  easily  ex- 
plicable on  the  hypothesis  that  since  the  Negroid  race  came 
into  existence  there  must  have  been  an  immense  tract  of  land 
or  a  chain  of  islands  stretching  from  the  eastern  coast  of 
Africa  right  across  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  secondly,  that  sea 
then  occupied  the  area  of  the  present  great  desert.  In 
whatever  manner,  however,  these  facts  are  to  be  explained, 
they  certainly  indicate  that  the  Negi'o  race  is  of  very  great 
antiquity. 

I  have  often  been  much  struck,  when  standing  at  the  feet 
of  glaciers,  by  the  great  size  of  the  terminal  moraines,  and 
the  length  of  time  which  must  have  been  required  for  their 
formation.  Let  us  take  as  an  instance  the  Nigaard  glacier 
in  the  Justedal,  on  the  Sognefjord.  The  Norwegian  glaciers 
no  doubt  covered  formerly  a  much  larger  area  than  that  which 
they  now  occupy.  They  retreated  as  the  cold  diminished; 
but  we  have  already  seen  that  man  was  present  in  Western 
Europe  when  the  general  temperature  was  several  degrees 
at  least  lower  than  it  is  at  present;  and  we 'shall  probably, 
therefore,  be  within  the  mark  if  we  suppose  that  the  glacier 
at  Justedal  has  retreated  at  least  a  mile  up  the  valley  since 
the  period  of  the  river-drift  gravels,  and  the  entrance  of 
man  into  Europe.  Now  the  terminal  moraine  of  the  glacier 
covers  the  whole  of  this  space  with  great  blocks  of  stones, 
thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  in  number,  and  yet, 
although  all  these  have  probably  been  brought  down  in  the 
human  period,  I  could  only  see  a  few  blocks  on  the  lower 
end  of  the  glacier  itself. 

As  far  as  Denmark  is  concerned  we  must,  for  the  present. 


THE   VEGETATION    OP   DENMARK.  389 

rely  principaTly  on  the  double  change  which  has  taken  place 
in  the  prevalent  vegetation.  Beech  forests  are  now  the 
pride  of  the  country,  and,  as  far  as  tradition  goes,  they  have 
always  been  so.  But,  as  is  shown  by  the  peat-bogs,  this  is  a 
mistake.  The  large  pcat-mosscs  do  not  help  us  very  much 
in  this  matter,  but  there  are  in  many  of  the  forests,  small 
and  deep  depressions,  filled  with  peat,  and  called  skov-mose. 
These,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  contain  many  trees 
which  grew  on  their  edges,  and  at  length  fell  into  them.  At 
the  bottom  is  usually  an  amorphous  peat,  above  is  a  layer  of 
pines — a  tree  which  does  not  now  grow  naturally  in  Den- 
mark. Higher  up  the  pines  disappear,  and  are  replaced  by 
oaks,  and  white  birches,  neither  of  which  are  now  common 
in  Denmark ;  while  the  upper  layer  consists  principally  of 
the  Betula  verrucosa,  and  corresponds  to  the  present,  which 
we  may  call  the  Beech  period.  Professor  Steenstrup  has 
found  stone  implements  among  the  stems  of  the  pines,  and 
as  the  capercailzie,  which  feeds  on  the  young  shoots  of  the 
pine,  has  been  found  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings,  it  seems 
likely,  to  say  the  least,  that  these  shell-mounds  belong  to 
the  pine  period,  and  that  the  three  great  stages  of  civiliza- 
tion correspond  in  some  measure  to  these  three  periods 
of  arborescent  vegetation.  For  one  species  of  tree  thus 
to  displace  another,  and  in  its  turn  to  be  supplanted  by 
a  third,  would  evidently  require  a  great,  though  at  pre- 
sent we  have  no  means  of  measuring  how  great,  lapse  of 
time. 

Turning  now  from  Denmark  to  Switzerland,  there  are  two 
cases  in  which  a  more  definite  estimate  has  been  attempted. 
We  must  not,  indeed,  place  too  much  reliance  on  them  as 
yet,  but  if  many  calculations  made  on  difierent  data  shall 
ngree  in  the  main,  we  may  at  length  come  to  some  approxi- 
mate conclusion. 

The  first  of  these  calculations  we  owe  to  M.  Morlot.     The 


390  THE   CONE    OF    THE    TINlfeRE. 

torrent  of  tlie  Tiniere,  at  the  point  where  it  falls  into  the 
Lake  of  Geneva,  near  Villeneuve,  has  gradually  built  up  a 
cone  of  gravel  and  alluvium.     In  the  formation  of  the  rail- 
way this  cone  has  been  bisected  for  a  length  of  one  thousand 
feet,  and  to  a  depth,  in  the  central  part,  of  about  thirty-two 
feet  six  inches  above  the  level  of  the  railway.     The  section 
of  the  cone  thus  obtained  shows  a  very  regular  structure, 
which  proves  that  its  formation  was  gradual.    It  is  composed 
of  the   same  materials  (sand,  gravel,  and  large  blocks)  as 
those  which  are  even  now  brought  down  by  the  stream.    The 
amount  of  detritus  does,   indeed,  differ  considerably  from 
year  to  year,  but  in  the  long-run  the  differences  compensate 
for  one  another,  so  that,  when  considering  long  periods,  and 
the  structure  of  the  whole  mass,  the  influences  of  the  tem- 
porary  variations,  which   arise  from    meteorological  causes, 
altogether  disappear,  and  need  not,  therefore,  be  taken  into 
account.    Dacuments  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Villeneuve 
show  that  in  the  year  1710  the  stream  was  dammed  up,  and 
its  course  a  little  altered,  which   makes  the  present  cone 
slightly  irregular.     That  the  change  was  not  of  any  great 
antiquity  is  also  shown  by  the  fact  that  on  the  side  where 
the  cone  was  protected  by  the  dykes,  the  vegetable  soil, 
where  it  has  been  affected  by  cultivation,  does  not  exceed 
two  or  three  inches  in  thickness.     On  the  side  thus  pro- 
tected by  the  dykes  the  railway  cutting  has  exposed  three 
layers  of  vegetable  soil,  each  of  which  must,  at  one  time, 
have  formed  the  surface   of  the  cone.     They  are  regularly 
intercalated  among  the  gravel,  and  parallel  to  one  another, 
as  well  as  to  the  present  surface  of  the  cone,  which  itself  fol- 
lows a  very  regular  curve.    The  first  of  these  ancient  surfaces 
was  traced  on  the  south  side  of  the  cone,  over  a  surface  of 
15,000  square  feet :  it  had  a  thickness  of  four  to  six  inches, 
and  occurred  at  a  depth  of  about  four  feet  (1.14  metre  mea- 
sured to  the  base  of  the  layer)  below  the  present  surface  of 


THE   CONE   OF   THE   TINI^RE.  391 

tlie  cone.  This  layer,  which  belonged  to  the  Roman  period, 
contained  tiles  and  a  Roman  coin. 

The  second  layer  was  traced  over  a  surface  of  25,000 
square  feet;  it  was  six  inches  in  thickness,  and  lay  at  a 
depth  of  about  ten  feet  (2.97  metres)  including  the  thickness 
<^f  the  layer.  In  it  have  been  found  several  fragments  of 
iinglazed  pottery,  and  a  pair  of  tweezers  in  bronze.  The 
third  layer  has  been  followed  for  3500  square  feet ;  it  was 
six  or  seven  inches  in  thickness,  and  lay  at  a  depth  of  nine- 
teen feet  (5.69  metres)  below  the  present  surface :  in  it  were 
found  some  fragments  of  very  rude  pottery,  some  pieces  of 
charcoal,  some  broken  bones,  and  a  human  skeleton  with  a 
small,  round,  and  very  thick  skull.  Fragments  of  charcoal 
were  even  found  a  foot  deeper,  and  it  is  also  worthy  of  notice 
that  no  trace  of  tiles  was  found  below  the  upper  layer  of 
earth. 

Towards  the  centre  of  the  cone,  the  three  layers  disappear, 
since,  at  this  part,  the  torrent  has  most  force,  and  has  de- 
posited the  coarsest  materials,  even  some  -blocks  as  much  as 
three  feet  in  diameter.  The  farther  we  go  from  this  central 
region,  the  smaller  are  the  materials  deposited,  and  the  more 
easily  might  a  layer  of  earth,  formed  since  the  last  great 
inundations,  be  covered  over  by  fresh  deposits.  Thus,  at  a 
depth  of  ten  feet,  in  the  gravel  on  the  south  of  the  cone,  at 
a  part  where  the  layer  of  earth  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age 
had  already  disappeared,  two  unrolled  bronze  implements 
were  discovered.  They  had  probably  been  retained  by  their 
weight,  when  the  earth  which  once  covered  them  was  washed 
away  by  the  torrent.  After  disappearing  towards  the  centre 
of  the  cone,  the  three  layers  reappear  on  the  north  side,  at  a 
slightly  greater  depth,  but  with  the  same  regularity,  and  the 
same  relative  position.  The  layer  of  the  Stone  Age  was  but 
shghtly  interrupted,  while  that  of  the  Bronze  era  was  easily 
distinguishable  by  its  peculiar  character  and  colour. 


392  THE    CONE    OP   THE    TINlfiKE. 

« 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  starting-point  of  this  argn- 
ment,  viz.  the  so-called  "  Roman "  layer,  is  far  from  being 
satisfactorily  determined.  It  is  quite  possible  that  tiles  were 
used  in  Switzerland  before  the  "Roman "  period ;  it  is  pro- 
bable that  they  continued  in  use  to  a  later  period.  The  coin 
found  in  the  "  Roman  "  layer  was  so  much  worn  as  to  be  un- 
determinable ;  it  had,  therefore,  probably  been  long  in  use. 
M.  Uhlmann  has  also  argued*  that  the  bones  found  in  the 
lower  layer  are  not  such  as  we  should  expect  to  find  in  a 
Stone  Age  deposit,  since  they  are  not  so  much  discoloured  as 
those  from  the  Stone  Age  pfahlbauten,  and  all  belong  to 
domestic  animals.  Only  fourteen  determinable  fragments, 
however,  were  found,  and  of  these  several  probably  belonged 
to  a  single  individual.  Moreover,  it  would  be  very  illogical 
to  compare  the  condition  of  bones  from  a  peat-moss  with 
those  which  had  been  lying  in  a  material  such  as  that  forming 
the  cone  of  the  Tiniere. 

M.  Morlot  did  not  disguise  from  himself  that  there  were 
certaiu  elements  of  doubt  in  the  case,  but  on  the  whole  it 
seemed  to  him  that  the  phenomena  were  so  regular  and  so 
well  marked  that  he  was  justified  in  applying  to  them  a  cal- 
culation, with  some  little  confidence  of  at  least  approximate 
accuracy.  Making  some  allowances ;  for  instance,  admitting 
three  hundred  years  instead  of  one  hundred  and  fifty,  for  the 
period  since  the  embankment,  and  taking  the  Roman  period 
as  representing  an  antiquity  of  from  sixteen  to  eighteen 
centuries,  he  obtains  for  the  age  of  Bronze  an  antiquity  of 
from  2900  years  to  4200  years,  for  that  of  the  Stone  period 
from  4700  to  7000  years,  and  for  the  whole  cone  an  age  of 
from  7400  to  11,000  years.  M.  Morlot  thought  that  we 
should  be  most  nearly  correct  in  deducting  two  hundred 
years  only  for  the  action  of  the  dykes,  and  in  attributing  to 

*  UelDer  Thierreste  und  Gebisstheil  gefimden  in  den  Schuttablagerungen 
der  Tiniere.     Bern,  1868. 


I 


THE    VALLEY    OP   THE    THIELE.  393 

the  Roman  layer  an  antiquity  of  sixteen  centuries,  that  is  to 
say,  in  referring  it  to  the  middle  of  the  third  century.  This 
would  give  an  antiquity  of  3800  years  for  the  Bronze  Age, 
and  6400  years  for  that  of  Stone ;  and,  on  the  whole,  he  is 
inclined  to  suppose  for  the  former  an  antiquity  of  from  3000 
to  4000  years,  and  for  the  latter  of  from  5000  to  7000  years. 
Not  less  ingenious  is  the  attempt  which  has  been  made 
by  M.  Gillieron  -'=,  Professor  at  the  College  of  Neuveville,  to 
obtain  a  date  for  the  lake-habitation  at  the  Pont  de  Thiele. 
This  stream  connects  the  lakes  of  Neufchatel  and  Bienne. 
During  the  first  part  of  its  course,  the  valley  is  narrow,  and 
the  bridge,  close  to  which  the  lake-dwelling  has  been  dis- 
covered, is  situated  at  the  narrowest  spot.  A  little  farther 
down  the  valley  suddenly  expands,  and  from  this  point  re- 
mains of  the  same  width  until  it  joins  the  Lake  of  Bienne. 
It  is  evident  that  the  valley,  as  far  as  the  bridge  over  the 
Thiele,  was  once  occupied  by  the  lake,  which  has  gradually 
been  silted  up  by  the  action  of  forces  still  in  operation,  and, 
if  we  could  ascertain  how  long  it  would  have  taken  to  effect 
this  change,  we  should  then  know  appro5:imately  the  date  of 
the  remains  found  at  the  Pont  de  Thiele,  which  are  evidently 
those  of  a  lake-dwelling.  The  Abbey  of  St.  Jean,  which 
stands  in  this  valley,  about  375  metres  from  th*?  present 
shore  of  the  lake,  was  founded,  according  to  ancient  docu- 
ments, between  the  years  1090  and  1106,  and  is  therefore 
about  750  years  old.  It  is  possible  that  the  abbey  may  not 
have  been  built  exactly  on  the  then  edge  of  the  lake ;  but 
even  if  this  were  the  case,  the  gain  of  land  will  only  have 
been  375  metres  in  750  years.  Prof.  Gillieron  does  not  com- 
pare with  this  the  whole  space  between  the  convent  and  the 
lake-dwelling,  because  in  the  narrower  part  of  the  valley, 
in  which  the  latter  is  situated,  the  gain  may  have  been  more 

*  Notice  stir  les  Habitations  Lacastrea  du  Pont  de  Thiele.     Porrentruy, 
1862. 


394  THE  FOEMATION  OF  EGYPT. 

rapid;  but  if  we  only  go  to  tlie  point  at  whicli  the  basin 
contracts,  we  shall  have  a  distance  of  3000  metres,  whicli 
would  upon  these  data  indicate  a  minimum  antiquity  of  6750 
years.  This  calculation  assumes  that  the  shape  of  the  bottom 
of  the  valley  was  originally  uniform.  M.  Morlot  agrees  with 
Prof.  Gillieron  in  believing  that  this  was  the  case,  and  from 
the  general  configuration  of  the  valley  it  seems  to  me  also  to 
be  a  reasonable  supposition.  Moreover,  the  soundings  taken 
by  M.  Hisely  in  the  Lake  of  Bienne  show  that  the  variations 
in  depth  are  but  of  slight  importance.  These  two  calcula- 
tions, then,  appear  to  indicate  that  6000  or  7000  years  ago 
Switzerland  was  already  inhabited  by  men  who  used  polished 
stone  implements,  but  how  long  they  had  been  there,  or  how 
many  centuries  elapsed  before  the  discovery  of  metal,  we 
have  as  yet  no  evidence  to  show. 

A  still  greater  antiquity  was  obtained  by  Mr.  Horner  as 
the  result  of  his  Egyptian  researches,  which  were  undertaken 
at  the  joint  expense  of  the  Royal  Society  and  the  Egyptian 
Government.  Every  year  the  Nile,  during  its  periodical 
overflow,  deposits  a  certain  amount  of  fine  mud,  and  even 
as  long  ago  as  the  time  of  Herodotus  it  was  inferred  that 
Egypt  had  been  formerly  an  arm  of  the  sea,  filled  up  gradually 
and  converted  into  dry  land  by  the  mud  brought  down  from 
the  upper  country. 

In  the  great  work  on  Egypt  which  we  owe  to  the  French 
philosophers  who  accompanied  Napoleon's  expedition  to  that 
country,  an  attempt  was  made  to  estimate  the  secular  eleva- 
tion thus  produced,  and  it  was  assumed  to  be  five  inches  in 
a  century.  This  general  average  was  consistent,  however, 
with  great  differences  at  difierent  parts,  and  Mr.  Horner, 
therefore,  did  not  consider  himself  justified  in  applying  this 
estimate  to  particular  cases,  even  if  he  had  been  satisfied 
with  the  evidence  on  which  it  rested.  He  preferred  to  exa- 
mine the  accumulation  which  had  taken  place  round  monu- 


THE  GRADUAL  ELEVATION  OF  THE  COUNTRY.       395 

ments  of  known  age,  and  selected  two — namely,  the  obelisk 
at  Heliopolis,  and  the  statue  of  Eameses  II.,  in  Memphis. 
"  The  obelisk  is  believed  to  have  been  erected  2300  years 
B.C.,  and  adding  1850,  the  year  when  the  observation  was 
made  (June,  1851,  i.e.  before  the  inundation  of  that  year), 
we  have  4150  years  in  which  the  eleven  feet  of  sediment 
were  deposited,  which  is  at  the  rate  of  3.18  inches  in  a 
century*."  But  Mr.  Horner  himself  admits  that  "  entire 
reliance  cannot  be  placed  on  this  conclusion,  principally 
because  it  is  possible  that  the  site  originally  chosen  for  the 
temple  and  city  of  Heliopolis  was  a  poi'tion  of  land  some- 
what raised  above  the  level  of  the  rest  of  the  desert."  He 
relics,  therefore,  principally  on  the  evidence  supplied  by  the 
colossal  statue  in  Memphis.  In  this  case  the  present  surface 
is  10  feet  Gf  inches  above  the  base  of  the  platform  on  which 
the  statue  stood.  Assuming  that  the  platform  was  sunk 
14f  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  at  the  time  it 
was  laid,  we  have  a  depth  of  sediment  from  the  present 
surface  to  that  level  of  9  feet  4  inches.  Bameses  is  sup- 
posed by  Lepsius  to  have  reigned  between  1394  and  1328  B.C., 
which  would  give  an  antiquity  of  3215  years,  and  con- 
sequently a  mean  increase  of  3|  inches  in  a  century. 
Having  thus  obtained  an  approximate  measure  of  the  rate 
of  deposit  in  that  part  of  the  Nile  valley,  Mr.  Horner  dug 
several  pits  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  in  one  of  them, 
close  to  the  statue  and  at  the  depth  of  39  feet,  a  piece  pf 
pottery  was  found,  which  upon  the  above  data  would  indicate 
an  anti(|uity  of  about  13,000  years. 

In  many  other  excavations,  pieces  of  pottery  and  other 
indications  of  man  wore  found  at  even  greater  depths,  but 
it  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  several  reasons  which 
render  the  calculations  somewhat  doubtful.  For  instance,  it 
is  impossible  to  ascertain  how  far  the  pedestal  of  the  statue 
*  Homer,  Phil.  Trans.,  1858,  p.  73. 


396  OWING    TO    THE   ANNUAL   DEPOSIT    OF   NILE    MUD. 

was  inserted  ijito  tlie  ground ;  Mr.  Horner  has  allowed  14| 
inches,  but  if  it  was  much  deeper,  the  rate  of  deposition 
would  be  diminished,  and  the  age  increased.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  statue  was  on  raised  ground,  of  course  the 
reverse  would  be  the  case. 

It  has  also  been  argued  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  were 
in  the  habit  of  making  embankments  round  the  areas  on 
which  they  erected  temples,  statues,  etc.,  so  as  to  keep  out 
the  waters  of  the  Nile. 

"  Whenever,  then/'  says  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  "  the  waters  at 
length  break  into  such  depressions,  they  must  at  first  carry 
with  them  into  the  enclosure  much  mud  washed  from  the 
steep  surrounding  banks,  so  that  a  greater  quantity  would 
be  deposited  in  a  few  years  than,  perhaps,  in  as  many  cen- 
turies on  the  great  plain  outside  the  depressed  area,  where 
no  such  disturbing  causes  intervened."  This  objection  is, 
however,  untenable,  because  the  rapidity  of  depression  will 
be  in  proportion  to  the  previous  retardation,  and  will  only 
tend  to  bring  the  depressed  area  up  to  the  general  level. 
Supposing,  for  instance,  that  the  monument  of  Rameses, 
erected  on  the  flat  plain  of  Memphis  3200  years  ago,  was 
protected  by  embankments  for  the  first  2000  years,  and 
that  during  that  time  the  plain  outside  was  gradually  raised 
5  feet  10  inches,  being  at  the  rate  of  3^  inches  in  a  century. 
When  the  embankment  gave  way  the  space  enclosed  would 
soon  be  filled  up  to  the  general  level,  and  a  thickness  of  5  feet 
10  inches  might  be  deposited  in  a  few  years :  still  this 
exceptionally  rapid  accumulation  would  only  be  the  comple- 
ment of  the  exceptional  want  of  deposit  which  had  preceded 
it;  and,  consequently,  when  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
plain  had  been  attained,  then,  although  the  mud  covering 
the  base  of  the  statue  may  have  been  altogether  deposited 
in  the  last  few  hundred  years,  i.e.  since  the  embankments 
have  been  neglected,  the  thickness  of  the  deposit  will  still 


MR.  Horner's  Egyptian  researches.  397 

be  a  measure  of  the  general  elevation  which  has  taken  place 
on  the  surrounding  plain  since  the  erection  of  the  monu- 
ment. 

Even  if  the  embankments  had  remained  intact  to  this  day, 
and  the  monument  stood  now  in  the  hollow  thus  produced^ 
Mr.  Horner's  argument  would  not  be  invalidated,  but  rather 
confirmed.  The  depth  of  the  hollow  would  give  us  a  measure 
of  the  deposit  which  had  taken  place  since  the  erection  of  the 
monument,  or  rather  since  the  formation  of  the  embankment. 
*If,  however,  the  monument  had  been  erected  in  an  area 
already  depressed  by  the  action  of  still  older  embankments, 
the  calculation  would  be  vitiated,  but  in  this  case  the  rate  of 
deposition  would  appear  to  be  greater  than  it  really  is,  and 
the  true  age  consequently  would  be  even  greater  than  the 
above  estimate.  There  are  other  causes,  however,  which 
prevent  me  from  accepting  unreservedly  the  conclusions  of 
Mr.  Horner,  although  his  experiments  are  of  great  impor- 
tance, and  much  credit  is  due  to  the  Egyptian  government 
for  the  liberal  manner  in  which  they  assisted  Mr.  Horner 
and  the  Royal  Society  in  this  investigation. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  evidence  on  which  M.  Morlot 
has  endeavoured  to  estimate  the  age  of  the  Cone  de  la 
Tiniere,  and  which  gave  about  six  thousand  years  for  the 
lower  layer  of  vegetable  soil,  and  ten  thousand  years  for  the 
whole  of  the  existing  cone.  But  above  this  existing  cone  is 
another,  which  was  formed  when  the  lake  stood  at  a  higher 
level  than  at  present,  and  which  M.  Morlot  refers  to  the 
period  of  the  river-drift  gravels.  TTiis  drift-age  cone  is  about 
twelve  times  as  large  as  that  now  forming,  and  would  appear, 
therefore,  on  the  same  data,  to  indicate  an  antiquity  of  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  years. 

In  his  ''Travels  in  North  America,"  Sir  C.  Lyoll  has 
endeavoured  to  estimate  the  age  of  the  Mississippi  delta  in 
the  following  manner  : — "  Dr.  Riddle,"  he  says,  ''  communi- 


398  AGE    OP    THE    MISSISSIPPI    DELTA. 

cated  to  me^  at  New  Orleans^  the  result  of  a  series  of 
experiments  which  he  had  made  to  ascertain  the  proportion 
of  sediment  contained  in  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  He 
concluded  that  the  mean  annual  amount  of  solid  matter  was 
to  the  water  as  -nrrr  ^^  weight,  or  about  xrrV-o  ^^  volume. 
Since  that  period  he  has  made  another  series  of  experiments, 
and  his  tables  show  that  the  quantity  of  mud  held  in  sus- 
pension, increases  regularly  with  the  increased  height  and 
velocity  of  the  stream.  On  the  whole,  comparing  the  flood 
season  with  that  of  clearest  water,  his  experiments,  continued 
down  to  1849,  give  an  average  annual  quantity  of  solid 
matter  somewhat  less  than  his  first  estimate,  but  not  varying 
materially  from  it.  From  these  observations,  and  those  of 
Dr.  Carpenter  and  Mr.  Forskey  (an  eminent  engineer,  to 
whom  I  have  before  alluded),  on  the  average  width,  depth, 
and  velocity  of  the  Mississippi,  the  mean  annual  discharge  of 
water  and  sediment  were  deduced.  I  then  assumed  528 
feet,  or  the  tenth  of  a  mile,  as  the  probable  thickness  of  the 
deposit  of  mud  and  sand  in  the  delta;  founding  my  con- 
jecture chiefly  on  the  depth  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  between 
the  southern  point  of  Florida  and  the  Balize,  which  equals, 
on  an  average,  one  hundred  fathoms,  and  partly  on  some 
borings  six  hundred  feet  deep,  in  the  delta  near  Lake  Pont- 
chartrain,  north  of  New  Orleans,  in  which  the  bottom  of  the 
alluvial  matter  is  said  not  to  have  been  reached.  The  area 
of  the  delta  being  about  13,600  square  statute  miles,  and  the 
quantity  of  solid  matter  annually  brought  down  the  river, 
3,702,758,400  cubic  feet,  it  must  have  taken  67,000  years 
for  the  formation  of  the  whole  ;  and  if  the  alluvial  matter  of 
the  plain  above  be  264  feet  deep,  or  half  thfit  of  the  delta,  it 
must  have  required  33,500  more  years  for  its  accumulation, 
even  if  its  area  be  estimated  only  as  equal  to  that  of  the 
delta,  whereas  it  is,  in  fact,  larger." 

Moreover,  as  Sir  Charles  has  himself  pointed  out,  a  very 


LAPSE    OP   TIME    AS    INDICATED    BY    CHANGE    OP    CLIMATE.      odO 

large  proportion  of  the  mud  brought  down  by  the  river  is 
not  deposited  in  the  delta,  but  is  carried  out  into  the  gulf. 
In  the  "Antiquity  of  Man*/'  he  refers  to  the  ^bove  given 
calculation,  and  admits  that  the  discharge  of  water  seems  to 
have  been  much  underrated  by  the  earlier  experiments. 
Messrs.  Humphrey  and  Abbot,  who  have  recently  surveyed 
the  delta,  also  "  remark  that  the  river  pushes  along  its 
bottom  into  the  gulf  a  certain  quantity  of  sand  and  gravel, 
which  would,"  they  suppose,  "  augment  the  volume  of  solid 
matter  by  about  one-tenth."  This,  of  course,  would  greatly 
diminish  the  time  required;  but  taking  into  consideration 
the  quantity  of  mud  which  is  carried  out  to  sea,  and  which 
was  not  allowed  for  in  the  previous  calculation.  Sir  Charles 
Lyell  still  regards  100,000  years  as  a  moderate  estimate  ;  and 
he  considers  that,  "  the  alluvium  of  the  Somme  containing 
flint  implements  and  the  remains  of  the  mammoth  and 
hy£ena,"  is  no  less  ancient. 

Again,  whatever  cause  or  causes  may  have  produced  the 
great  change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  climate  of  Western 
Europe,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  change  indicates 
a  very  considerable  lapse  of  time.  We  are  indebted  to  Mr. 
Hopkins  for  a  very  interesting  memoir  on  this  subject. 
Among  the  possible  causes  of  change  he  discusses — 

Firstly,  A  variation  in  the  intensity  of  solar  radiation. 

To  this  theory  Mr.  Hopkins  sees  no  a  priori  objection  ;  but 
he  does  not  fee)  disposed  to  attach  much  weight  to  it,  because 
it  is  "a  mere  hypothesis  framed  tt  account  for  a  single  and 
limited  class  of  facts,  and  unsupported  by  the  testimony  of 
any  other  class  of  allied,  but  independent  phenomena." 

It  is,  moreover,  open  to  the  objections  stated  with  great 
force  by  Professor  Tyndallf,  who  argues  that  the  ancient 

*  Appendix  to  third  edition  of  the       p.  11. 
Antiquity  of  Man,  p.   16.     See  also  f  Heat  considered  as  a  Mode  of 

Geological  Journal,   1869,  vol.  xxv.       Motion,  p.  192. 


400      LAPSE    OF   TIME   AS    INDICATED    BY   CHANGE  OF   CLIMATE. 

glaciers  indicate  tlie  action  of  heat  as  mucli  as  of  cold. 
^'  Cold/'  lie  says,  "  will  not  produce  glaciers.  You  may  have 
the  bitterest  north-east  winds  here  in  London  throughout 
the  winter,  without  a  single  flake  of  snow.  Cold  must  have 
the  fitting  object  to  operate  upon,  and  this  object — the 
aqueous  vapour  of  the  air — is  the  direct  product  of  heat. 
Let  us  put  this  glacier  question  in  another  form :  the  latent 
heat  of  aqueous  vapour,  at  the  temperature  of  its  produc- 
tion in  the  tropics,  is  about  1000°  Fahr.,  for  the  latent 
heat  augments  as  the  temperature  of  evaporation  descends. 
A  pound  of  water  thus  vaporized  at  the  equator,  has  absorbed 
one  thousand  times  the  quantity  of  heat  which  would  raise  a 

pound  of  the  liquid  one  degree  in  temperature It  is 

perfectly  manifest  that  by  weakening  the  sun's  action,  either 
through  a  defect  of  emission,  or  by  the  steeping  of  the  entire 
solar  system  in  space  of  a  low  temperature,  we  should  be 
cutting  off  the  glaciers  at  their  source." 

Professor  Frankland  has  even  gone  so  far  as  to  express  the 
opinion  that  "  the  sole  cause  of  the  phenomena  of  the  glacial 
epoch  was  a  higher  temperature  of  the  ocean  than  that  which 
obtains  at  present*,"  having  no  doubt  overlooked  the  fact 
that  the  fauna  of  the  sea,  as  well  as  of  the  land,  had  an  Arctic 
character. 

Secondly.  Admitting  the  proper  motion  of  the  sun,  it 
has  been  suggested  that  we  may  have  recently  passed  from 
a  colder  into  a  warmer  region  of  space. 

I  must  refer  to  Mr.  Hopkins'  memqir  for  his  objections  to 
this  suggestion ;  they  certainly  appear  to  ''  render  the  theory 
utterly  inapphcable  to  the  explanation  of  the  changes  of 
temperature  at  the  more  recent  geological  epochs." 

This  hypothesis,  moreover,  is  liable  to  the  same  fatal 
objection  as  the  first.  To  produce  snow  requires  both  heat 
and   cold;   the  first  to  evaporate,  the  second  to  condense. 

*  Phr.  Mag.  1864,  p.  328. 


SIR   J.  W.    LUBBOCK   ON   THE    EARTH's    AXIS.  401 

In  fact,  what  we  require  is  a  greater  contrast  between  the 
tempei'ature  of  the  tropics  and  that  of  our  latitudes;  so  that, 
paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  the  primary  cause  of  the 
"  glacial "  epoch  may  be,  after  all,  an  elevation  of  tempera- 
ture in  the  tropics,  causing  a  greater  amount  of  evaporation 
in  the  equatorial  regions  and  consequently  a  greater  supply 
of  the  raw  material  of  snow  in  the  temperate  regions  during 
the  winter  months. 

Thirdly.     An  alteration  in  the  earth's  axis. 

The  possibility  of  such  a  change  has  been  denied  by  many 
astronomers.  My  father,  the  late  Sir  J.  W.  Lubbock,  has, 
on  the  contrary,  maintained*  that  this  would  necessarily 
follow  from  upheavals  and  depressions  of  the  earth's  surface, 
if  only  they  were  of  sufficient  magnitude.  The  same  view 
has  recently  been  taken  by  other  mathematicians.  This 
suggestion,  like  the  preceding,  presupposes  immense  geo- 
graphical changes,  which  would  therefore  necessarily  imply 
an  enormous  lapse  of  time. 

Fourthly.  Mr.  Hopkins  inclines  to  find  the  true  solution 
of  the  difficulty  in  the  supposition  that  the  Gulf-Stream  did 
not  at  this  period  warm  the  shores  of  Europe.  ''A  depres- 
sion of  2000  feet  would,"  he  says,  "  convert  the  Mississippi 
into  a  great  arm  of  the*  sea,  of  which  the  present  Gulf  of 
Mexico  would  form  the  southern  extremity,  and  which  would 
communicate  at  its  northern  extremity  with  the  waters  occu- 
pying the  ....  great  valley  now  occupied  by  the  chain  of 
lakes."  In  this  case  the  Gulf- Stream  would  no  longer  be 
deflected  by  the  American  coasts,  but  would  pass  directly  up 
this  channel  into  the  Arctic  Sea ;  and  as  a  very  great  ocean 
current  must  have  its  counter  current,  it  is  probable  that 
there  would  be  a  flow  of  cold  water  from  the  North  between 
the  coasts  of  Norway  and  Greenland.  The  absence  of  the 
Gulf- Stream  would  probably  lower  the  January  temperature 
*  Greol.  Joum.  vol.  v.  p.  4. 

28 


402  EFFECT   OP   A   CHANGE    IN    THE    GULP-STREAM. 

of  Western  Europe  ten  degrees,  while  the  presence  of  a  cold 
current  from  the  north  would  make  a  further  difference  of 
about  three  or  four  degrees  *,  an  alteration  of  the  climate 
which  would  apparently  be  sufficient  to  account  for  all 
the  phenomena.  This  theory  Mr.  Hopkins  considers  as  no 
mere  hypothesis,  but  as  necessarily  following  from  the  sub- 
mergence of  North  America,  which  has  been  inferred  from 
evidence  of  a  different  nature. 

In  this  case,  of  course,  the  periods  of  great  cold  in  Europe 
and  in  America  must  have  been  successive,  and  not  synchro- 
nous ;  and  it  may  also  be  observed,  that  m  this  suggested 
deflection  of  the  Gulf- Stream,  Mr.  Hopkins  was  contem- 
plating a  period  anterior  to  that  of  the  present  rivers.  For 
if  we  are  to  adopt  this  solution  of  the  difficulty,  ah  immense 
time  would  be  required.  If,  when  the  gravels  and  loess  of 
the  Somme  and  the  Seine  were  being  deposited,  the  Gulf- 
Stream  was  passing  up  what  is  now  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, then  it  follows  that  the  formation  of  the  loess  in  that 
valley  and  its  delta,  an  accumulation  which  Sir  C.  Lyell  has 
shown  to  require  a  period  of  about  100,000  years,  would  be 
subsequent  to  the  excavation  of  the  Somme  valley,  and  to 
the  presence  of  man  in  Western  Europe. 

The  deflection  of  the  Gulf- Stream  from  our  coasts  might, 
however,  be  owing  to  another  cause,  namely,  a  subsidence  of 
the  isthmus  of  Panama ;  in  support  of  which  suggestion  may 
be  mentioned  the  remarkable  fact  recently  observed  by  Dr. 
Gunther,  that  out  of  173  tropical  marine  fish,  no  less  than 
57,  or  30  per  cent.,  occur  on  both  sides  of  the  isthmus;  in 
both  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  f. 

Mr.  Croll,  however,  has  pointed  out  that  at  present  the 
"  S.E.  trade  winds  of  the  Atlantic  blow  with  greater  force 
than  the  N.E.  trades,  and  the  consequence  is  that  the  S.E, 
trades  sometimes  extend  to  10°  or  15°  N.  lat.,  whereas  the 

*  Hopkins,  1.  c.  p.  85.  f   Trans.  Zool.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  397. 


EFFECT    OF   A    CHANGE    IN    THE    GULF-STREAM,  403 

N.E.  trades  seldom  blow  south  of  the  equator.  But  during 
the  glacial  epoch  the  very  reverse  must  have  occurred. 
Hence  the  great  equatorial  current  of  the  Atlantic  must 
during  that  period  have  been  driven  considerably  south  of 
its  present  position  *."  Even  at  present,  while  the  greater 
part  of  the  water  enters  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  one  portion  is 
deflected  southwards,  which  in  the  case  mentioned  above 
would  happen  to  the  greater  portion,  if  not  the  whole. 

Under  existing  circumstances,  however,  the  southern  divi- 
sion is  comparatively  small ;  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the 
great  equatorial  current  turns  northwards,  and  warms  the 
northern  hemisphere,  so  that  the  comparatively  high  tempe- 
rature of  the  Northern  Atlantic  is  in  some  measure  due  to 
heat  derived  from  the  Southern  hemisphere.  In  a  recent 
memoir  t  Mr.  Croll  has  shown  the  great  effect  produced  by 
the  Gulf- Stream  on  the  present  climate  of  Europe.  He  cal- 
culates that  it  conveys  as  much  heat  as  is  received  from  the 
sun  by  3,121,870  square  miles  at  the  Equator,  nearly  as  much 
as  is  received  from  the  sun  by  the  entire  Arctic  regions,  the 
proportions  being  as  15  to  18.  Our  present  climate  is  12° 
higher  than  the  normal  due  to  its  latitude,  but  Mr.  Croll 
points  out  that  this  is  by  no  means  to  be  considered  as  mea- 
suring the  effect  of  the  Gulf- Stream.  The  temperature  of 
the  whole  hemisphere  is  raised  by  the  equatorial  currents, 
and  the  1 2°  "  only  represent  the  number  of  degrees  that  the 
mean  normal  temperature  of  our  island  stands  above  what  is 
called  the  normal  temperature  of  the  latitude.'^ 

There  is  yet  another  cause  to  which  the  present  mild  tem- 
perature of  Europe  is  partly  due,  and  which  must  not  be 
altogether  neglected.  At  the  period  under  consideration, 
indeed,  the  geography  of  Western  Europe  must  have  been 
very  nearly  what  it  is  now.     There  is,  however,  good  reason 

*  Croll,  Philosophical  Magazine,  Aug.  1864. 
+  1.  c.  Feb.  and  Oct.  1870. 


404  ASTRONOMICAL   CAUSES. 

for  considering  that  tlie  desert  of  Sahara  then  formed  part  of 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Mr.  Tristram  has  called  attention  to 
cliffs^  ancient  sea-beaches,  and  lines  of  terraces  along  the 
northern  margin  of  the  desert,  and  the  common  cockle  is 
still  found  living  in  some  of  the  salt  lakes.  Mr.  Tristram 
also  discovered  a  species  of  Haligenes,  which  inhabits  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea,  in  a  salt  lake  in  lat.  32°  N.  and  long.  7°  E., 
separated,  therefore,  from  its  present  marine  habitat  by  the 
whole  extent  of  the  Great  Desert.  Moreover,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  the  present  geographical  distribution  of  animals 
can  only  be  explained  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  existing 
fauna,  including  man,  occupied  Africa  long  before  the  Sahara 
became  dry  land. 

Mr.  Croll  has  shown  in  the  memoir  already  cited  that 
currents  of  warm  water  produce  a  far  greater  effect  upon 
climate  than  aerial  currents  of  equal  volume  and  tempera- 
ture, yet  it  is  evident  that  such  a  change  would  have  a 
great  effect  on  the  climate  of  Europe.  At  present  we 
receive  from  the  south,  hot  dry  winds,  which  warm  us 
both  directly  and  also  indirectly  by  melting  the  snow  and 
ice  on  our  mountain-tops.  If  the  Sahara  was  a  sea,  the 
"  Fohn,"  instead  of  being  a  burning,  dry  wind,  which  strips 
the  snow  off  the  Alps,  both  by  melting  and  evaporation, 
would  be  a  moist,  damp  wind,  and  when  it  reached  the 
mountains  would  produce  dense  clouds  and  thick  fogs,  which 
would  prevent  the  sun's  rays  from  warming  the  earth  or 
melting  the  glaciers.  So  that  to  the  barren  desert  of  the 
Sahara,  which  we  are  apt  to  look  upon  as  a  useless  waste, 
we  are  in  reality  much  indebted  for  the  fertility  and  civi- 
lization of  Europe. 

M.  Adhemar  *  has  suggested  a  mode  of  accounting  for 
the  cold  of  the  glacial  epoch,  which,  if  the  true  one,  would 
give  us  means  of  calculating  its  antiquity.     If  the  plane  of 
*  Revolutions  de  la  Mer.     J.  Adhemar.     Paris. 


t 


PRECESSION    OF   THE   EQUINOXES.  405 

the  equator  coincided  exactly  witli  that  of  the  ecliptic,  i.  e. 
with  that  of  the  earth's  orbit,  then  it  is  evident  that  every 
day  would  be  followed  by  a  night  of  equal  length.  In  con- 
sequence, however,  of  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  there  are 
only  two  days  in  the  year  when  this  is  actually  the  case, 
namely,  the  20th  of  March  and  the  23rd  September.  Thus 
our  year  is  divided  into  four  well  marked  periods.  "  Win- 
ter "  begins  on  the  22nd  December,  which  is  the  shortest 
day  of  the  year,  and  continues  until  the  20th  March,  which 
is  called  the  spring  equinox,  because  on  it  the  day  and 
night  are  of  equal  lengths.  ''  Spring  "  commences  on  the 
20th  March  and  continues  till  the  21st  June,  during  which 
time  the  days  continue  to  elongate  at  the  expense  of  the 
pight. 

From  the  21st  June,  however,  which  is  the  first  day  of 
'^summer,"  the  days  begin  to  shorten,  until,  on  the  23rd  of 
September,  day  and  night  are  again  equal,  and  we  have  the 
autumn  equinox. 

Autumn  commences  on  the  23rd  September,  and  the  days 
continue  to  diminish  till  the  22nd  December,  which  is  the 
shortest  day,  and  after  which  they  begin  to  lengthen. 

At  present,  then,  the  northern  hemisphere  enjoys  in  each 
year  seven  days  more  of  spring  and  summer  than  of  autumn 
and  winter,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere has  seven  days  more  of  autumn  and  winter  than  of 
spring  and  summer.  This  inequality  of  the  seasons  is  due 
to  the  greater  rapidity  with  which  the  earth  moves  when  it 
is  in  perihelion,  or  nearest  the  sun^  as  is  the  case  on  the  31st 
December. 

The  dates  of  perihelion  and  spring  equinox  have  not 
always  been,  nor  will  they  always  continue  to  be,  the  same 
as  at  present.  On  the  contrary,  a  constant  though  slow 
movement  is  continually  taking  place :  the  spring  equinox, 
which  is  now  on  the  20th  March,  will  after  a  while  be  on  the 

I 


406  M.  adhbmar's  argument. 

lOtli,  then  on  the  18th,  and  so  on;  whilst  perihelion,  which 
now  happens  on  the  31st  December,  will  in  the  lapse  of  time 
fall  on  the  1st  of  January,  then  on  the  2nd,  and  so  on.  The 
interval  between  the  two  occurrences,  therefore,  is  diminish- 
ing; at  some  future  day  they  will  be  coincident,  and  in 
about  21,000  years  they  will  be  as  far  apart  again  as  they 
now  are.  The  longest  and  shortest  days,  and  the  autumnal 
equinox,  move  of  course  in  the  same  manner  as  the  spring 
equinox,  and  consequently  the  northern  and  southern  hemi- 
spheres alternately  enjoy  a  preponderance  of  summer.  The 
year  1 248  a.d.  was  that  in  which  the  first  day  of  winter  cor- 
responded with  the  passage  of  the  earth  into  perihelion,  and 
consequently  was  the  period  when  the  balance  of  summer  in 
favour  of  the  northern  hemisphere  was  greatest.  Up  to  that 
date  the  duration  of  summer  was  increasing ;  it  is  now,  and 
has  been  for  620  years,  gradually  diminishing. 

Astronomers  have  not,  however,  generally  considered  that 
these  changes,  or  even  those  which  affect  the  excentricity  of 
our  orbit,  would  produce  any  material  difierence  between  the 
climates  of  the  two  hemispheres,  because  whatever  the  excen- 
tricity of  our  orbit  may  be,  the  two  hemispheres  must  receive 
exactly  the  same  amounts  of  heat,  "  the  proximity  of  the  sun 
in  perigee,  or  its  distance  in  apogee,  exactly  compensating 
the  effect  of  its  swifter  or  slower  motion ;"  in  other  words, 
the  southern  hemisphere  has  a  shorter  summer  than  ours 
because  it  is  nearer  the  sun,  and  for  the  same  reason  it  re- 
ceives in  a  given  time  more  heat,  so  that  the  two  differences 
neutralize  one  another. 

M.  Adhemar  points  out,  however,  that  the  temperature  of 
each  hemisphere  does  not  depend  on  the  quantity  of  heat 
received  from  the  sun,  but  on  the  difference  between  the 
amount  received,  and  the  amount  radiated  away  into  space ; 
in  other  words,  on  the  quantity  retained.  If,  he  says  in 
illustration,  you  burn  a  given  quantity  of  wood  in  two  iden- 


THE    CUPOLA.   OP   ICE   AT  THE    SOUTH    POLE.  407 

tical  rooms,  and  then  open  the  windows  in  one  and  not 
in  the  other,  you  will  soon  have  a  difference  of  tempe- 
rature, though  the  supply  of  heat  has  been  the  same  in 
both*. 

Now  our  northern  hemisphere  has  186  x  24  =:  4464  hours 
of  day  in  the  year,  and  179  x  24  =  4296  hours  of  night, 
while  the  southern  hemisphere  has  4464  hours  of  night,  and 
only  4296  of  day.  We  may  admit  that  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere will  receive  as  much  heat  from  the  sun  in  its  4296 
hours  of  day,  as  we  do  in  our  4464,  but  it  is  evident  that  it 
will  retain  less,  because  it  will  have  168  hours  more  of  night, 
during  which  radiation  will  be  going  on.  Though,  therefore, 
the  heat  received  by  the  two  hemispheres  will  be  equal,  the 
temperature  of  the  two  will  not  be  by  any  means  the  same, 
and  though  at  first  this  difference  may  be  slight,  it  will  in 
its  nature  be  to  a  certain  extent  cumulative. 

That  the  southern  hemisphere  is  colder  than  the  northern 
is  evident  on  account  of  the  much  greater  accumulation  of 
ice  in  the  former;  but  it  is  also  clear  that  this  very  fact  tends 
to  aggravate  the  difference  to  which  it  is  due. 

Moreover,  M.  Adhemar  afiirms  that  the  immense  cupola 
of  ice  which  is  known  to  exist  round  the  South  Pole  must 
affect  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  earth,  and  consequently 
attract  the  ocean  southwards.  In  this  manner,  indeed,  he 
attempts  to  explain  the  remarkable  preponderance  of  land  in 
the  north,  and  of  sea  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  A  glance 
at  the  map  will  show  this  difference,  but  the  following  table 
makes  it  more  apparent.  Taking  each  parallel  as  unity,  the 
proportion  of  sea  is  as  follows  : — 

60°  North  .  .  0.353  10°  South  .  .  0.786 
50°  „  .  .  0.407  20°  „  .  .  0.777 
40*^      „       .        .    0.527        30°      „        .        .     0.791 

*  Eevolutions  de  la  Mer,  p.  344. 


408       THE  CUPOLA  OF  ICE  AT  THE  SOUTH  POLE. 


30°  North    . 

.     0.536 

40°  South   . 

.     0.951 

20°     ,,       . 

.     0.677 

50°      „       . 

.     0.972 

10°     ..      . 

.     0.710 

60°      „       . 

.     1.000 

0°    ,,      . 

.     0.771 

Certainly  a  progressive  increase  of  sea,  which  is  so  remark- 
ably regular,  can  hardly  be  the  result  of  accident. 

M.  Adhemar  maintains  that  this  is  due  to  the  alteration  of 
the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  earth,  caused  by  the  great 
southern  cupola  of  ice,  and  consequently  that  11,120  years 
ago  (i.  e.  10,500  years  before  1248),  when  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere was  at  its  coldest,  the  northern  glacier  consequently 
at  its  maximum,  and  the  southern  at  its  minimum,  the  pre- 
ponderance of  water  would  have  been  in  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere, and  the  submersion  of  the  lower  lands  of  Europe  and 
America  may  have  been  due  to  an  alteration,  not  in  the  level 
of  the  land,  but  in  that  of  the  sea.  He  conceives  that  when 
the  increasing  cupola  counterbalances  the  decreasing  one, 
there  is  a  sudden  transfer  of  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the 
earth  from  one  side  of  the  centre  of  the  solid  part  to  the 
other,  and  consequently  a  rush  of  water,  or  deluge,  alter- 
nately from  north  to  south  and  from  south  to  north,  occur- 
ring every  10,500  years.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  the 
alterations  of  the  ice  cupolas  would  be  too  slow,  and  conse- 
quently the  change  in  "the  centre  of  gravity  too  gradual  to 
cause  any  sudden  rush  or  deluge  of  water  from  the  one  pole 
to  the  other. 

According  to  this  theory,  the  year  1248,  was  that  in  which 
our  northern  hemisphere  was  at  its  period  of  greatest  heat, 
the  southern  at  that  of  greatest  cold ;  and  as  600  years  have 
since  elapsed  we  ought  to  find  some  evidence  of  subsequent 
change. 

As  regards  the  southern  hemisphere,  M.  Adhemar  points 
out  that  the  great  southern  glacier  has  considerably  retreated 


OBJECTIONS    TO    M.    ADHEMAR^S    THEORY.  409 

since  the  time  of  Captain  Cook,  but  it  is  in  the  northern 
hemisphere  that  he  finds  the  greatest  evidence  of  alteration. 
He  dwells  much  on  the  increase,  during  the  last  few  cen- 
turies, of  the  Swiss  glaciers,  and  of  the  ice  in  Greenland, 
and  points  out  that  the  cultivation  of  the  vine  does  not  now 
extend  so  far  northwards  as  was  once  the  case.  M.  Adhemar, 
then,  considers  that  the  last  epoch  of  greatest  cold  must 
have  been  11,120  years  ago,  since  which  time  the  climate  of 
our  hemisphere  gradually  improved  up  to  the  year  1248, 
when  it  was  most  genial,  and  after  which  it  has,  in  his  opinion, 
gradually  commenced  again  to  deteriorate.  Sir  Charles 
Lyell*,  however,  does  not  think  that  this  change,  "which 
could  hardly  produce  more  than  a  difierence  of  half  a  degree 
Fahrenheit  between  the  cold  of  the  present  winter  and  that 
of  1248,  would  be  appreciable.^'  He  adds  that  the  whole 
effect  which  can  be  produced  by  secular  astronomical  changes 
must  "always  be  very  subordinate  to  the  influence  of  geo- 
graphical conditions  f." 

Sir  John  Herschell  J  also  "  is  very  far  from  supposing  it 
competent "  to  account  for  so  great  an  alteration.  Moreover 
it  is  remarkable  as  showing  how  far  we  are  from  possessing  the 
data  necessary  for  any  satisfactory  conclusions,  that  while,  as 
we  have  seen,  M.  Adhemar  regards  the  enormous  cupola  of 
ice  at  the  South  Pole  as  the  reason  for  the  almost  entire 
absence  of  land  at  that  Pole,  Sir  C.  Lyell,  on  the  other  hand, 
states  as  a  fact,  that  the  chief  cause  of  the  intense  cold  of 
high  southern  latitudes  is  "the  vast  height  and  extent 
of  the  Antarctic  continent,"  the  very  existence  of  which 
is  denied  by,  and  is  indeed  incompatible  with,  the  theory 
of  M.  Adhemar,  while  it  is  necessary  to  that  of  Sir  C. 
Lyell. 

*  Principles  of  Geology,  1867,  vol.  i.  %  Outlines  of  Astronomy,  1858,  p. 

p.  278.  235. 

t  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  2t3. 


410  PROBABLE  EFFECT  OP  PRECESSION. 

It  mxLst,  I  tliink,  be  confessed  that  the  existence  of  Yie- 
toria  Land,  Enderby's  Land,  and  other  coasts,  as  well  as  the 
great  volcano  of  Mount  Erebus,  are  unfavourable  to  the 
theory  advocated  by  M.  Adhemar,  so  far  at  least  as  he  applies 
it  to  explain  the  present  remarkable  distribution  of  land  and 
sea;  and  it  must  also  be  remembered,  as  tending  to  show 
that  the  geographical  distribution  of  land  and  sea  has  more 
influence  on  climate  than  M.  Adhemar  is  disposed  to  admit, 
that  according  to  his  theory  the  southern  hemisphere  ought 
at  the  present  time  to  be,  as  a  whole,  far  colder  than  the 
northern,  which,  however,  is  not  the  case. 

Although,  then,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  astronomical 
changes  would,  to  a  certain  extent,  affect  our  climate  in  the 
manner  indicated  by  M.  Adhemar,  those  best  qualified  to 
form  an  opinion  do  not  consider  that  the  cause  assigned  by 
him  would  by  itself  be  suflacient  to  account  for  changes  so 
great  as  those  which  have  taken  place.  The  effect  produced 
increases,  however,  with  the  excentricity  of  the  earth^s  orbit. 
The  form  of  this  orbit  is  always  altering ;  as  it  approaches  to 
a  circle,  the  effect  produced  by  precession  and  change  of 
position  of  perihelion  diminishes,  while  on  the  other  hand  it 
increases  as  the  orbit  elongates.  At  present  the  excentricity 
of  our  orbit  is  only  0.0168, — that  is  to  say,  the  orbit  is  nearly 
circular ;  but  there  have  been  periods  when  it  was  much  more 
elongated,  and  when  consequently  the  extremes  of  tempera- 
ture dependent  on  precession  and  the  position  of  perihelion 
must  also  have  been  much  greater. 

Mr.  Croll  and  Mr.  Stone  have  calculated  the  excentricity 
for  the  last  million  years,  and  Mr.  John  Carrick  Moore  has 
worked  out  the  effect  upon  our  climate,  assuming  other 
things  to  remain  unchanged,  in  the  four  last  columns  of  the 
following  table  which  is  given  by  Sir  C.  Lyell  in  the  last 
edition  of  the  "  Principles  of  Geology  *." 
*  1,  c.  vol.  i.  p.  293. 


THE    EXCENTRICITY    OF   THE    EARTH  S    ORBIT. 


411 


Tabic  showing  the  variations  in  the  eccentricity  of  the  earth's 
orhit  for  a  million  years  before  a.d.  1800,  and  some  of  the 
climatal  effects  of  such  variations. 


1 

2 

4 

5 

G 

Number  of 

Excentricity 

Difference 

Number 

Mean  of 

Mean  of 

years  before 

of 

of  distance 

ol  winter 

hottest 

coldest 

A.D.  1800. 

Orbit. 

in  millions 

days  in 

month  in  lat. 

month  in  lat. 

of  miles. 

excess. 

of  London. 

of  London. 

1,000,000 

.0151 

2| 

7.3 

83°P. 

21°F. 

D 

950,000 

.0517 

9i 

25.1 

109° 

3° 

900,000 

.0102 

H 

4.9 

80° 

23° 

[a 

850,000 

.0747 

13^ 

36.4 

126° 

7° 

C  \h 

800,000 

.0132 

n 

6.4 

82° 

22° 

u 

750,000 

.0575 

10^ 

27.8 

113° 

0°6 

700,000 

.0220 

4 

10.2 

87° 

17° 

650,000 

.0226 

4 

11 

88° 

16° 

600,000 

.0117 

n 

20.3 

101°9 

7°9 

550,000 

.0166 

3 

8 

84° 

20° 

500,000 

.0388 

7 

18.8 

99° 

9° 

450,000 

.0308 

5J 

15 

94° 

13° 

dOO.OOO 

.0170 

3 

8.2 

84° 

20° 

350,000 

.0195 

3J 

9.5 

86° 

18° 

300,000 

.0124, 

n 

20.6 

102° 

7° 

250,000 

.0258 

4i 

12.5 

90° 

15° 

210,000 

.0575 

lOi 

27.8 

113° 

0°7 

200,000 

.0567 

m 

27.7 

113° 

1°9 

150,000 

.0332 

6 

16.1 

95° 

12° 

A 

100,000 

.0473 

8^ 

23 

105° 

5° 

50,000 

.0131 

2J 

6.3 

82° 

22° 

0 

.0168 

3 

8.1 

84° 

20° 

EXPLANATION  OF  THE  TABLE. 

Column  1. — Division  of  a  million  years  preceding  1800  into  twenty  equal 
parts. 

Column  2. — Computed  by  Mr.  James  Croll,  by  aid  of  Leverrior's  forftiula, 
gives  the  excentricity  of  the  earth's  orbit,  in  parts  of  a  unit  equal  to  the 
mean  distance,  or  half  the  longer  diameter  of  the  ellipse. 

Column  3. — Which,  together  with  the  three  following  columns,  has  been 
computed  by  Mr.  John  Carrick  Moore,  gives  in  millions  of  miles  the  differ- 
ence between  the  greatest  and  least  distances  of  the  earth  from  the  sun, 
during  the  excentricities  given  in  Column  2. 

Column  4. — Gives  the  number  of  days  by  which  winter,  occurring  in 
aphelion,  is  longer  than  the  summer  in  perihelion. 

Cqi.umn  5. — Gives  the  mean  temperature  of  the  hottest  summer  month  in 
the  latitude  of  London  when  the  summer  occurs  in  perihelion. 

Column  6. — Gives  the  mean  temperature  of  the  coldest  winter  month  iu 
the  latitude  of  London  when  the  winter  occurs  in  aphelion. 


412  DATE    SUGGESTED   FOE   THE    GLACIAL   EPOCH. 

This  table  shows  that  there  are  four  periods  marked  A^  B_, 
C,  and  D,  in  which  there  has  been  a  large  excentricity,  and 
an  extreme  climate.  The  periods  marked  A  and  B_,  says  Sir 
Charles  Lyell,  "  would  not^  I  conceive^  be  sufficiently  distant 
from  our  era  to  afford  time  for  that  series  of  glacial  and  post- 
glacial events  which  we  can  prove  to  have  happened  since 
the  epoch  of  the  greatest  cold.  Tliese  events  relate  tc 
changes  in  the  level  of  the  land  in  opposite  directions^  as  well 
as  the  excavation  of  valleys^  and  variations  in  the  range  and 
distribution  of  aquatic  and  terrestrial  animals^  all  of  which 
take  place  at  so  slow  a  rate  that  200,000  years  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  allow  of  the  series  of  changes  with  which  we  are 
acquainted.  I  agree^  therefore,  with  Mr.  Crollj  that  if  the 
date  of  the  most  intense  glacial  cold  can  be  arrived  at  by  aid 
of  a  very  large  excentricity,  it  would  be  a  more  probable 
conjecture  to  assign  C  than  B  as  the  period  in  question,  "in 
other  words,  to  regard  the  glacial  epoch  as  representing  a 
period  800,000  years  ago.''^ 

In  differing  from  such  a  great  authority  as  Sir  C.  Lyell, 
I  do  so  with  great  diffidence,  but  I  confess  that  I  should 
be  disposed  rather  to  assign  the  glacial  era  to  the  periods 
A  and  B,  than  to  either  C  or  D*. 

It  seems  to  me  unlikely  that  the  present  fauna  of  Europe 
should  have  continued  to  exist,  almost  without  alteration,  for 
so  long  a  period  as  800,000  years,  and  the  "variations  in  the 
range  and  distribution  of  aquatic  and  terrestrial  animals,^' 
might,  I  think,  have  occurred  in  even  less  than  200,000  years 
under  the  great  changes  in  climate  which  have  taken  place. 
Moreover  the  Geological  Magazine  for  June,  1868,  contains  an 
interesting  paper  by  Mr.  Geikie,  "  On  denudation  now  in  pro- 
gress," in  which  he  discusses  the  general  effect  produced  by 
rivers  in  excavating  valleys  and  lowering  the  general  level 

*  In  a  recent  memoir,  Mr.  Croll  also  expresses  this  opimon.  Phil.  Mag. 
1868,  p.  367. 


EFFECT  OF  RIVERS  ON  THE  LEVEL  OF  CONTINENTS,    413 

of  the  country.  "  For  it  is  clear  that  if  a  river  carries  so 
many  millions  of  cubic  feet  of  sediment  every  year  into  the 
sea,  the  area  of  the  country  drained  by  it  must  have  lost 
that  quantity  of  solid  material,  and  if  we  could  restore  the 
sediment  so  as  to  spread  it  over  the  basin,  the  layer  so  laid 
down  would  represent  the  fraction  of  a  foot  by  which  the 
basin  had  been  lowered  during  a  year/'  From  observations 
made  on  the  Mississippi,  Ganges,  Rhone,  Danube,  and  other 
great  rivers,  Mr.  Geikie  estimates  the  annual  loss  at  -c-o'-oo  of 
a  foot.  But  he  points  out  that  this  would  not  be  uniform. 
The  plains  and  watersheds  would  lose  little,  the  slopes  and 
valleys  much.  "  There  can  be  no  doubt,"  he  says,  "  that  the 
erosion  of  the  slopes  and  watercourses  is  very  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  more  level  grounds.  Let  it  be  assumed  that 
the  waste  is  nine  times  greater  in  the  one  case  than  in  the 
other  (in  all  hkclihood  it  is  more)  :  in  other  words,  that 
while  the  plains  and  table-lands  have  been  having  one  foot 
worn  off  their  surface,  the  declivities  and  river-courses  have 
lost  nine  feet.  Let  it  be  further  assumed  that  one-tenth  part 
of  the  surface  of  a  country  is  occupied  by  its  water-courses 
and  glens,  while  the  remaining  nine-tenths  are  covered  by 
the  plains,  wide  valleys,  or  flat  grounds.  Now,  according  to 
the  foregoing  data,  the  mean  annual  quantity  of  detritus 
carried  to  the  sea  is  equal  to  the  yearly  loss  of  thjVo  of  ^  foot 
from  the  general  surface  of  the  country.  The  valleys,  there- 
fore, are  lowered  by  -nro  o-  of  a  foot,  and  the  more  open  and 
flat  laud  by  twito  of  a  foot." 

Mr.  Geikie  calculates  in  this  manner  that  Europe  would 
disappear  in  little  more  than  4,000,000  of  years.  I  cannot 
altogether  accept  this  conclusion,  for  when  a  river  has  loss 
than  a  given  amount  of  fall,  it  ceases  to  excavate.  Thus  the 
effect  of  the  Nile  is  to  raise,  not  to  lower  the  level  of  Egypt, 
and  most  of  our  large  rivers  near  their  mouths  act  in  a  some- 
what similar  manner.     As  regards  the  higher  districts,  how- 


414  THE    OBLIQUITY    OF   THE    ECLIPTIC. 

ever,  his  data  are  perhaps  not  far  wrong,  and  if  we  apply 
them  to  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  where  the  excavation  is 
about  200  feet  in  depth,  they  would  indicate  an  antiquity  for 
the  Pateolithic  epoch  of  from  100,000  to  240,000  years, 
which,  though  arrived  at  from  perfectly  different  data, 
agrees  with  the  periods  A  and  B  in  the  calculation  made 
by  Messrs.  Croll  and  Stone. 

In  addition  to  the  causes  already  alluded  to,  there  is  at 
least  one  other  astronomical  phenomenon,  namely,  the  change 
in  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  which  must  be  taken  into 
account  in  considering  the  effects  which  cosmical  causes 
may,  or  must,  have  exercised  on  climate.  The  whole  ques- 
tion then  is  one,  not  only  of  extreme  interest,  but  also  of 
very  great  difficulty,  and  we  are  not,  I  think,  at  present  in 
a  position  to  estimate  with  confidence  the  effects  on  climate 
which  may  have  been  produced  by  these  various  causes. 

Several  other  points  connected  with  the  glacial  period 
would  receive  a  natural  explanation  if  we  were  able  to  adopt 
the  suggestions  of  M.  Adhemar  and  Mr.  Croll.  Thus  M. 
Morlot  *  some  years  ago  pointed  out  that  there  are  in  Swit- 
zerland evidjences  of  two  periods  of  cold,  during  what  is 
called  the  glacial  epoch,  separated  by  an  interval  of  mildness. 

Whether  M.  Adhemar  is  right  in  attributing  the  prepon- 
derance of  ocean  in  the  southern  hemisjjhere  to  the  influence 
of  the  great  Antarctic  glacier,  cannot,  I  think,  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  be  conclusively  determined.  There 
can,  however,  be  no  doubt  that  an  accumulation  of  snow  and 
ice  at  one  pole  would,  by  affecting  the  position  of  the  centre 
of  gravity  of  the  earth,  attract  the  waters  towards  that  pole. 
Mr.  Croll  calculates  that  a  diminution  of  470  feet  in  the 
thickness  of  the  Antarctic  glacier  would  raise  the  sea  level 
at  the  North  Pole  26  feet  5  inches,  and  25  feet  at  the  lati- 

*  Bull,  de  la  Soc.  Vaudoise  des  Sciences  Naturelles.  Marcii,  1854.  Bibl. 
Universelle  de  Geneve.     May,  1858. 


M.    ADHEMAR   ON    CHANGES   IN    THE    SEA-LEVEL.  415 

tudo  of  Glasgow.  A  mile  of  ice  removed  in  the  same  way 
would  produce  a  change  of  280  feet.  M.  Adhemar  dwells 
on  various  considerations  which  induce  him  to  attribute  a 
very  great  thickness  to  the  great  southern  glacier,  and 
consequently  he  considers  that  the  alterations  of  sea-level 
which  would  result  from  the  alternate  preponderance  of  ice 
in  the  Arctic  and  Antarctic  regions,  would  account  for  the 
various  alterations  in  the  distribution  of  laud  and  water. 
That  there  must,  however,  have  been  elevations  and  depres- 
sions of  the  land  itself  is  sufficiently  evident  from  other 
considerations,  but  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that  the  cause 
pointed  out  by  M.  Adhemar  may  have  produced  the  relative 
dlevation  of  the  sea,  as  proved  by  the  various  raised  beaches 
which  fringe  our  shores,  and  the  depression  on  the  other 
hand  indicated  by  the  submerged  forests,  observed  at  so 
many  points. 

The  former  would  indicate  the  periods  of  cold,  the  latter 
those  of  heat.  The  present  condition  of  our  rivers  will  also 
thus  be  simply  explained.  •  There  can,  I  think,  be  no  doubt 
that  many  of  them  have  excavated  their  own  valleys.  At 
present,  however,  they  are  all  filling  up  the  lower  parts  of 
the  excavation,  as,  for  instance,  we  have  seen  to  be  the  case 
with  the  Somme. 

Moreover,  the  bottom  of  these  valleys  is  in  most  cases  lower 
than  the  present  sea- level,  which  cannot  have  been  the  case 
at  the  time  when  they  were  excavated.  It  is  evident,  then, 
that  the  excavation  must  have  been  finished  at  the  time 
when  the  sea  was  at  a  lower  relative  level  than  at  present. 

Again,  it  will  be  remembered  that  side  by  side  with  the 
remains  of  Arctic  animals  have  been  found  others  indicating 
a  warm  climate,  such  for  instance  as  the  hippopotamus. 
This  fact,  which  has  always  hitherto  been  felt  as  a  difficulty, 
is  at  once  explained  by  Mr.  CroU's  suggestion,  for,  when 
the  excentricity  was   at  a  high  value,  we  should  have  a 


416  GEOLOGICAL   CHANGES 

change  every  ten  or  twelve  thousand  years  from  a  higli  to  a 
low  temperature^  and  vice  versa.  But  a  period  of  ten  thou- 
sand years,  long  as  it  may  appear  to  us,  is  very  little  from  a 
geological  point  of  view ;  and  we  can  thus  understand  how 
the  remains  of  the  hippopotamus  and  the  musk  ox  come  to 
be  found  together  in  England  and  France.  The  very  same 
astronomical  conditions  which  fitted  our  valleys  for  the  one, 
would  at  an  interval  of  ten  thousand  years  render  them  suit- 
able for  the  other. 

Sir  C.  Lyell  has  also*  attempted  to  form  an  estimate  of 
the  duration  of  the  glacial  epoch,  on  the  assumption  that 
the  difierent  movements  of  elevation  and  depression  pro- 
ceeded at  an  average  rate  of  2|  feet  in  a  century.  As  the 
simplest  "  series  of  changes  in  physical  geography  which  can 
possibly  account  for  the  phenomena  of  the  glacial  period," 
he  gives  the  following  : — 

"First,  a  continental  period,  towards  the  close  of  which 
the  forest  of  Cromer  flourished :  when  the  land  was  at  least 
500  feet  above  its  present  level,  perhaps  much  higher,  and 
its  extent  probably  greater  than  that  given  in  the  map, 
fig.  41."  In  this  map  the  British  Isles,  including  the 
Hebrides,  Orkneys,  and  Shetjands,  are  connected  with  one 
another  and  with  the  continent,  the  whole  German  Ocean 
being  laid  dry. 

''  Secondly,  a  period  of  submergence,  by  which  the  land 
north  of  the  Thames  and  Bristol  Channel,  and  that  of 
Ireland,  was  gradually  reduced  to  such  an  archipelago  as 
is  pictured  in  map,  fig.  40;  and  finally  to  such  a  general 
prevalence  of  sea  as  is  seen  in  map,  fig.  39,  only  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  being  left  above  water.  This  was  the  period 
of  great  submergence  and  of  floating  ice,  when  the  Scandi- 
navian flora,  which  overspread  the  lower  grounds  during 
the  first  continental  period,  may  have  obtained  exclusive 
*  Antiquity  of  Man,  pp.  282,  285. 


m  THE  QUATERNARY  PERIOD.  417 

possession   of  tlie  only   lands   not   covered  with  perpetual 
snow. 

"  Thirdly,  a  second  continental  period,  when  the  bed  of 
the  glacial  sea,  with  its  marine  shells  and  erratic  blocks,  was 
laid  dry,  and  when  the  quantity  of  land  equalled  that  of  the 
first  period." 

It  is  evident  that  such  changes  as  these  would  require 
a  great  lapse  of  time.  Sir  Charles  Lyell  admits  that  the 
average  change  of  2^  feet  in  a  century  is  a  purely  arbitrary 
and  conjectural  rate,  and  that  there  are  cases  in  which  a 
change  of  as  much  as  six  feet  in  a  century  appears  to  have 
taken  place :  still  it  is  in  his  opinion  probable  that  the  rate 
assumed  in  a  century  is,  if  any  thing,  above  the  average ;  and  * 
in  this  I  believe  most  geologists  would  be  disposed  to  agree 
with  him.  On  this  hypothesis  the  submergence  of  Wales, 
to  the  extoQt  of  1400  feet,  would  require  56,000  years;  but 
''^  taking  Prof.  Ramsay's  estimate  of  800  feet  more,  that 
elevation  being  required  for  the  deposition  of  some  of  the 
stratified  drift,  we  must  demand  an  additional  period  of 
32^000  years,  amounting  in  all  to  88,000;  and  the  same 
time  would  be  required  for  re-elevation  of  the  tract  to  its 
present  height.  But  if  the  land  rose  in  the  second  con- 
tinental period  no  more  than  600  feet  above  the  present 

level,  this would  have  taken  another  24,000  years; 

the  whole  of  the  grand  oscillation,  comprising  the  sub- 
mergence and  re-emergence,  having  taken,  in  round  num- 
bers, 224,000  years  for  its  completion;  and  this,  even  if 
there  were  no  pause  or  stationary  period,  when  the  downward 
movement  ceased,  and  before  it  was  converted  into  an  up- 
ward one." 

To   the   geologist,  however,  these  figures,  large  as  they 

are,  will  have  no  appearance  of  improbability.     All  the  facts 

of  geology  tend  to  indicate  an  antiquity  of  which  we  are 

but  beginning  to  form  a  dim  idea.     Take,  for  instance,  one 

29 


418  GEOLOGICAL   TIME. 

single  formation — our  well-known  chalk.  This  consists 
entirely  of  shells  and  fragments  of  shells  deposited  at  tho 
bottom  of  an  ancient  sea,  far  away  from  any  continent. 
Such  a  progress  as  this  must  be  very  slow :  probably  we 
should  be  much  above  the  mark  if  we  were  to  assume  a  rate 
of  deposition  of  ten  inches  in  a  century.  Now  the  chalk 
is  more  than  a  thousand  feet  in  thickness,  and  would  have 
required  therefore  more  than  120,000  years  for  its  forma- 
tion. The  fossiliferous  beds  of  Great  Britain,  as  a  whole, 
are  more  than  70,000  feet  in  thickness,  and  many  which 
with  us  measure  only  a  few  inches,  on  the  continent  expand 
into  strata  of  immense  depth;  while  others  of  great  im- 
portance elsewhere  are  wholly  wanting  with  us,  for  it  is 
evident  that  during  all  the  different  periods  in  which  Great 
Britain  has  been  dry  land,  strata  have  been  forming  (as  is, 
for  example,  the  case  now)  elsewhere,  and  n(^t  with  us. 
Moreover,  we  must  remember  that  many  of  the  strata  now 
existing  have  been  formed  at  the  expense  of  older  ones; 
thus  all  the  flint  gravels  in  the  south-east  of  England  have 
been  produced  by  the  destruction  of  chalk.  This  again  is 
a  very  slow  process.  It  has  been  estimated  that  a  cliff  500 
feet  high  will  be  worn  away  at  the  rate  of  an  inch  in  a 
century.  This  may  seem  a  low  rate,  but  we  must  bear  in 
mind  that  along  any  line  of  coast  there  are  comparatively 
few  points  which  are  suffering  at  one  time,  and  that  even  on 
those,  when  a  fall  of  cliff  has  taken  place,  the  fragments 
serve  as  a  protection  to  the  coast  until  they  have  been 
gradually  removed  by  the  waves.  The  Wealden  Valley  is 
twenty-two  miles  in  breadth,  and  on  these  data  it  has  been 
calculated  that  the  denudation  of  the  Weald  must  havo 
required  more  than  150,000,000  of  years. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  interest  of  these  calcu- 
lations, and  they  have  also  the  great  merit  of  giving  some 
definiteness  to  our  ideas.     We  must  not,  however,  attribute 


GEOLOGICAL   TIME.  419 

to  them  a  value  whicli  has  been  distinctly  disclaimed  eveu 
by  their  authors.  ^'Dans  tous  les  cas/'  says  M.  Morlot, 
"  il  doit  etre  bien  entendu  que  Tauteur  n'expose  le  present 
calcul  que  comme  une  premiere  imparfaite  et  hasardeuse 
tentative,  sans  valeur  absolue  en  elle-meme,  tant  qu'elle 
n'aura  pas  ete  verifiee  au  moyen  d'autres  essais  du  mcme 
genre."  Moreover,  we  must  remember  that  these  estimates 
are  brought  forward  not  as  a  proof,  but  as  a  measure,  of 
antiquity.  Our  belief  in  the  antiquity  of  man  rests  not  on 
any  isolated  calculations,  but  on  the  changes  which  have 
taken  place  since  his  appearance ;  changes  in  the  geography, 
in  the  fauna,  and  in  the  climate  of  Europe.  Valleys  have 
been  deepened,  widened,  and  partially  filled  up  again ;  caves 
through  which  subterranean  rivers  once  ran  are  now  left 
dry;  even  tlie  configuration  of  land  has  been  materially 
altered,  and  Africa  finally  separated  from  Europe. 

Our  climate  has  greatly  changed  for  the  better,  and  tvith 
it  the  fauna  has  materially  altered.  In  some  cases,  for 
instance,  in  that  of  the  hippopotamus  and  of  the  African 
elephant,  we  may  probably  look  to  the  diminution  of  food 
and  the  presence  of  man  as  the  main  cause  of  their  dis- 
appearance ;  the  extinction  of  the  mammoth,  the  Elephas 
antiques,  and  the  Rhinoceros  ticlwrhinus,  may  possibly  b© 
due  to  the  same  influences;  but  the  retreat  of  the  reindeer 
and  the  musk  ox  are  probably  in  great  measure  owing  to 
the  change  of  climate.  These  and  similar  facts,  though 
they  afford  us  no  means  of  measurement,  impress  us  with 
a  vague  and  overpowering  sense  of  antiquity.  All  geolo- 
,  gists,  itideed,  arc  now  prepared  to  admit  that  man  has 
existed  on  our  earth  for  a  much  longer  period  than  was  until 
recently  supposed  to  have  been  the  case. 

But  it  may  be  doubted  whether  even  geologists  yet  realize 
the  great  antiquity  of  our  race. 

"  When  speculations  on  the  long  series  of  events  which 


420  REPOETED  EVIDENCE  OP  MAN 

occurred  in  the  glacial  and  post-glacial  periods  are  indulged 
in,"  says  Sir  C.  Lyell*,  "the  imagination  is  apt  to  take 
alarm  at  the  immensity  of  the  time  required  to  interpret  the 
monuments  of  these  ages,  all  referable  to  the  era  of  existing 
species.  In  oi'der  to  abridge  the  number  of  centuries  which 
would  otherwise  be  indispensable,  a  disposition  is  shown  by 
many  to  magnify  the  rate  of  change  in  pre-historic  times,  by 
investing  the  causes  which  have  modified  the  animate  and 
the  inanimate  world  with  extraordinary  and  excessive  energy. 

We  of  the  living  generation,  when  called  upon 

to  make.grants  of  thousands  of  centuries,  in  order  to  explain 
the  events  of  what  is  called  the  modern  period,  shrink 
naturally  at  first  from  making  what  seems  so  lavish  an  ex- 
penditure of  past  time." 

That  man  existed  in  Western  Europe  duritg  the  period 
of  the  Mammoth  and  the  Rhinoceros  tichorhinus,  no  longer, 
I  think,  admits  of  a  doubt ;  but  when  we  come  to  Pliocene, 
and  still  more  to  Miocene,  times,  the  evidence  is  less  conclusive. 

M.  Desnoyersf  has  called  attention  to  some  marks  noticed 
by  him  on  bones  found  in  the  ujDper  pliocene  beds  of  St. 
Prest,  and  belonging  to  the  Eleplias  tneridionalis,  Rhinoceros 
leptorMnus,  Hippojpotamus  major,  several  species  of  deer 
(including  the  gigantic  Megaceros  carnuiorum,  Laugel),  and 
two  species  of  Bos.  M.  Desnoyers  has  examined  a  consider- 
able number  of  these  bones,  and  he  comes  to  the  conclu- 
sion "  que  les  traces  d'incisions,  ....  en  un  mot,  que  des 
traces  tout  a  fait  analogues  a  celles  que  produiraient  les 
outils  de  silex  tranchants  a  point  plus  ou  moins  aigue,  a 
bords  plus  ou  moins  denteles,  se  voyaient  sur  la  plupart  de 
ces  ossements." 

Among  the  bones  of  the  deer  were  several  crania,  all  of 
which  have  been  broken  in  one  way,  namely,  by  a  violent 

*  Address  to  the  Brit.  Asa.  1864,  p.  21,  Bath, 
t  Comptea  Bendus.     Jime  8,  1863. 


IN   THE    PLIOCENE    PERIOD.  421 

blow  given  on  tlie  skull  between,  and  at  the  base  of,  tlie 
horns.  M.  Steenstrup  has  noticed  fractures  of  this  kind  in 
other  less  ancient  skulls  of  ruminants,  and  at  the  present 
day  some  of  the  northern  tribes  treat  the  skulls  of  ruminants 
in  the  same  manner.  Through  the  courtesy  of  M.  Desnoycrs, 
I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  examining  some  of  the 
scratched  bones  from  Saint  Prest.  The  markings  fully  bear 
out  the  description  given  by  him,  and  some  of  them  at  least 
appear  to  me  to  be  probably  of  human  origin ;  at  the  same 
time,  and  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  say  that  there  is  no  other  manner  in  which  they 
might  have  been  produced.  At  the  same  place  that  indefa- 
tigable archa3ologist,  M.  TAbbe  Bourgeois,  has  more  recently 
discovered  worked  flints,  including  flakes,  awls,  and  scrapers, 
but  unfortunately  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  stratigraphical 
relations  of  the  bed  in  which  they  occurred*. 

At  the  meeting  in  Spezzia,  of  the  "  Societe  Italienne  des 
Sciences  Naturelles,"  Prof.  G.  Eamorino  exhibited  some 
bones  of  Pliocene  Age,  said  to  bear  marks  of  knives.  These 
specimens  are  in  the  museum  at  Genoa,  but  I  have  not 
myself  seen  themf. 

Some  archaeologists  even  consider  that  we  have  proof  of  the 
presence'  of  man  in  miocene  times.  Thus  M.  Bourgeois  has 
found  in  the  calcaire  de  Beauce,  near  Pontlevoy,  many  flints 
which  have  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  heat,  and  others 
which  he  considers  to  show  undoubted  marks  of  human  work- 
manship. On  the  former  point  there  is  still  some  difie- 
rence  of  opinion,  and  the  action  of  fire,  though  it  points 
strongly  to,  does  not  absolutely  prove,  the  presence  of  man. 
These  interesting  specimens  were  found  in  a  stratum,  which* 
contains  the  remains  of  Acerotherium,  an  extinct  animal  allied 
to  the  Rhinoceros,  and  beneath  a  bed  which  contains  the 

*  Mat.  pour  I'Histoire  de  rHomme,  1867,  p.  17. 
t  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  41. 


422  MIOCENE    MAN. 

Mastodon,  Dinotherium,  and  RMnoceros.   M.  Bourgeois  gives 
the  follo-wdng  section  *  : — ■ 

Vegetable  earth 0™     30 

„  „  mixed  with  quaternary 

pebbles 20 

Faluns,  with  shells  and  rolled  bones 
of   Rhinoceros,   Mastodon,   and 

Dinotherium 60 

Compact  calcaire  de   Beauce  perfo- 
rated by  Pholas 30 

Marly  calcaire  de  Beauce     ....     6 
Layer  containing  worked  flints     .     .  60 

In  the  Materiaux  pour  I'Histoire  de  THomme  for  1870  f, 
is  a  figure  of  a  flint  flake  found  by  M.  Tardy  in  the  miocene 
beds  of  Aurillac  (Auvergne),  together  with  the  remains  of 
Dinotherium  giganteum,  and  Machairodus  latidens.  Not 
having  visited  the  locality,  I  cannot,  of  course,  express  any 
opinion  as  to  the  age  of  the  bed  in  which  this  interesting 
specimen  was  discovered,  but  from  the  figure  given  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  it  is  of  human  workmanship. 
M.  Delaunay  also  has  called  attention  to  a  rib,  found  by  him 
at  Pouance  (Maine  et  Loire)  and  belonging  to  a  well-known 
miocene  species,  the  Halitherium  fossile  J  ;  this  bears  certain 
marks  which  closely  resemble  those  which  might  have  been 
made  by  flint  implements.  M.  Harny  gives  a  good  figure 
of  this  interesting  specimen.  Whether,  however,  we  have  con- 
clusive evidence  of  the  existence  of  man  in  miocene  times  is 
a  question  on  which  archaeologists  are  still  of  difierent 
opinions. 

*  Sir  Charles  Lyell  himself  thinks  that  we  may  expect  to 
find  the  remains  of  man  in  the  pliocene  strata,  but  there  he 
draws  the  line,  and  says  that  in  miocene  time,  "  had  some 

*  Mat.  pour  I'Histoire  de  I'Homme,  1869,  p.  297.  t  1-  c  p.  93. 

J  Precis  de  Paleontologie  Humaine,  p.  58. 


« 
MIOCENE  MAN.  423 

other  rational  being,  representing  man,  then  flourished,  some 
signs  of  his  existence  could  hardly  have  escaped  unnoticed, 
m  the  shape  of  implements  of  stone  or  metal,  more  frequent 
and  more  durable  than  the  osseous  remains  of  any  of  the 
mammalia." 

Without  expressing  any  opinion  as  to  the  mental  condition 
of  our  ancestors  in  the  mioccne  period,  it  seems  to  me  evident 
that  the  argument  derived  from  the  absence  of  human 
remains,  whatever  may  be  its  value,  is  as  applicable  to 
pliocene  as  to  miocene  times.  But  those  who  have  learnt 
geology  at  the  feet  of  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  and  look  up  to  him 
as  their  master  in  the  science,  will  be  the  least  able  to  agree 
with  him  on  this  point,  for  the  imperfection  of  the  geological 
record  has  hitherto  been  urged  upon  us  almost  as  strongly  by 
Sir  C.  Lyell  as  by  Mr.  Darwin.  It  is  true  that  few  of  our 
existing  species,  or  even  genera,  have  as  yet  been  found  in 
miocene  strata;  but  if  man  constitutes  a  separg,te  family  of 
mammalia,  as  he  does  in  the  opinion  of  the  highest  authori- 
ties, then,  according  to  all  pala3ontological  analogies,  he  must 
have  had  representatives  in  miocene  times.  We  need  not, 
however,  expect  to  find  the  proofs  in  Europe;  our  nearest 
relatives  in  the  animal  kingdom  are  confined  to  hot,  almost 
to  tropical  climates,  and  it  is  in  such  countries  that  we  are 
most  likely  to  find  the  earliest  traces  of  the  human  race. 


CHAPTER    Xm. 


MODERN    SAVAGES. 


ALTHQUGH  our  knowledge  of  ancient  times  Has  of  late 
years  greatly  increased,  it  is  still  very  imperfect,  and 
we  cannot  afford  to  neglect  any  possible  source  of  informa- 
tion. It  is  evident  that  history  cannot  throw  much  light 
on  the  early  condition  of  man,  because  the  discovery — or,  to 
speak  more  cprrectly,  the  use — of  metal  has  in  all  cases  pre- 
ceded that  of  writing.  Even  as  regards  the  Age  of  Bronze 
we  derive  little  information  from  History,  and  although, 
as  we  have  «een,  the  Age  of  Stone  is  vaguely  alluded  to  in 
the  earliest  European  writers,  their  statements  have  gene- 
rally been  looked  upon  as  imaginative  rather  than  historical ; 
and  contain,  indeed,  little  more  than  the  bare  statement  that 
there  was  a  time  when  metal  was  unknown. 

Nor  will  tradition  supply  the  place  of  history.  At  best 
it  is  untrustworthy  and  short-lived.  Thus  in  1770  the  New 
Zealanders  had  no  recollection  of  Tasman^s  visit*.  Yet  this 
took  place  in  1643,  less  than  130  years  before,  and  must 
have  been  to  them  an  event  of  the  greatest  possible  impor- 
tance and  interest.  In  the  same  way  the  North  American 
Indians  soon  lost  all  tradition  of  De  Soto's  expedition, 
although  "  by  its  striking  incidents  it  was  so  well  suited  to 
impress  the  Indian  mindf." 

Even  as  regards  events  which  are  contemporary,  or  nearly 
so,    we   find   that   the  accounts    given  by   savages  become 

*  Cook's  First  Voyage  round  the  World.  Hawkesworth's  Voyages,  vol.  ii. 
p.  388.  t  Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  ii.  p.  12. 


THE    DNTEUSTWORTHINESS   OF   TRADITION.  425 

rapidly  distorted.  Thus  Nilsson*  quotes  the  account  given 
by  Mackenzie,  that  the  Esquimaux  described  the  English 
to  him  as  being  giants,  with  wings,  who  could  kill  with  a 
glance  of  their  eye,  and  swallow  a  whole  beaver  at  a  mouth- 
lul.  So  also  Colonel  Dalton  tells  us  that  '^  though  the  Kols 
have  known  the  English  for  little  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury, they  assign  to  them  a  most  honourable  place  in  their 
genesis.     The  Assam  Abors  and  Garrows  do  the  samef-" 

The  Buugogecs  and  Pankhos  (Hill  tribes  of  Chittagong) 
believe  that  their  ancestors  came  out  of  a  cave  in  the  earth, 
under  the  guidance  of  a  chief  named  Tlandrokpah,  who  was 
so  powerful  that  he  married  the  daughter  of  the  Deity,  to 
whom  he  presented  his  gun.  "You  can  still  hear  the 
gun,  the  thunder  is  the  sound  of  it  J."  In  this  case  the  men- 
tion of  the  gun  shows  that  the  tradition  must  be  of  modern 
origin.  Again,  Speke  says,  "  I  found  that  the  Waganda 
have  the  same  absurd  notion  here  as  the  Wanyambo  have  in 
Karague,  of  Kamrasi's  supernatm'al  power  in  being  able  to 
divide  the  waters  of  the  Nile  in  the  same  manner  as  Moses 
did  the  Red  Sea§." 

Mansfield  Parkyns  relates  how  it  was  firmly  believed  in 
the  remote  parts  of  Abyssinia,  that  the  German  missionaries 
had,  "  in  the  course  of  only  a  few  days,  perforated  a  tunnel 
all  the.  way  (from  Adowa)  to  Massowa,  on  the  coast  of  the 
Red  Sea,  a  distance  of  above  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
Avhence  they  were  to  obtain  large  supplies  of  arms,  ammu- 
nition, etc. y." 

Baker t  also,  in  his  Nile  Tributaries,  says:  "The  conver- 

*  The  Stone  Age.  English  edition,  %  Capt.  Lewin,  The  Hill  Tribes  of 

P-  209.  Chittagong.     Calcutta,   1809,   p.  95. 

t  Trans.  Eth.  Soc.     New  Ser.  vol.  See  also  Lichtenstein's  Travels,  vol.  i. 

vi.  p.  38.      See  also   Lichtonsteiu's  p.  290. 

Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  290 ;  James'  Expe-  §  Speke,  p.  438.     See  also  p.  504. 

dition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  vol.  ||  Life  in  Abyssinia,  p.  151. 

iii.   p.  217  ;    and    Campbell,    Trans.  ^  1.  c.  p.  129,  130. 
Ethn.  Soc.  1870,  p.  335. 


426  THE    UNTRUSTWORTHINESS    OP   TRADITION. 

sation  of  the  Arabs  is  in  tlie  exact  style  of  tlie  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  name  of  God  is  coupled  with  every  trifling 
incident  in  life,  and  they  believe  in  the  continual  action 
of  Divine  special  interference.  Should  a  famine  afflict  the 
country,  it  is  expressed  in  the  stern  language  of  the  Bible, 
'  The  Lord  has  sent  a  grievous  famine  upon  the  land ; '  or, 
'  The  Lord  called  for  a  famine,  and  it  came  upon  the  land.' 
Should  their  cattle  fall  sick,  it  is  considered  to  be  an  afflic- 
tion by  Divine  command ;  or  should  the  flocks  prosper  and 
multiply  particularly  during  one  season,  the  prosperity  is 
attributed  to  special  interference.  Nothing  can  happen  in 
the  usual  routine  of  daily  life,  without  a  direct  connexion 
with  the  hand  of  God,  in  the  Arab's  belief. 

"  This  striking  similarity  to  the  description  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  exceedingly  interesting  to  a  traveller  when 
residing  among  these  curious  and  original  people.  With 
the  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  these  unchanged  tribes  before 
the  eyes,  there  is  a  thrilling  illustration  of  the  sacred  record  : 
the  past  becomes  the  present,  the  veil  of  three  thousand 
years  is  raised,  and  the  living  picture  is  a  witness  to  the 
exactness  of  the  historical  description.  At  the  same  time, 
there  is  a  light  thrown  upon  many  obscure  passages  in  the 
Old  Testament  by  the  experience  of  the  present  customs  and 
figures  of  speech  of  the  Arabs,  which  are  precisely  those 
that  were  practised  at  the  periods  described.  I  do  not 
attempt  to  enter  upon  a  theological  treatise,  therefore  it 
is  unnecessary  to  allude  specially  to  these  particular  points. 
The  sudden  and  desolating  arrival  of  a  flight  of  locusts,  the 
plague,  or  any  other  unforeseen  calamity,  is  attributed  to 
the  anger  of  God,  and  is  believed  to  be  an  infliction  of 
punishment  upon  the  people  thus  visited,  precisely  as  the 
plagues  of  Egypt  were  specially  inflicted  upon  Pharaoh  and 
the  Egyptians.  Should  the  present  history  of  the  country 
be  written  by  an  Arab  scribe,  the  style  of  the  description 


TENDENCY   TO   THE    MARVELLOUS.  427 

would  be  purelj  that  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  various 
calamities  or  the  good  fortunes  that  have  in  the  course  of 
nature  befallen  both  the  tribes  and  indi\nduals,  would  be 
recounted  either  as  special  visitations  of  Divine  wrath,  or 
blessings  for  good  deeds  performed.  If  in  a  dream  a  par- 
ticular course  of  action  is  suggested,  the  Arab  believes  that 
God  has  sjyoJcen  and  directed  him.  The  Arab  scribe,  or 
historian  would  describe  the  event  as  the  '  voice  of  the  Lord ' 
(Kallam  el  Allah)  having  spoken  unto  the  person;  or,  that 
God  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream  and  'said.'  Thus  much 
allowance  would  be  necessary  on  the  part  of  a  European 
reader  for  the  figurative  ideas  and  expressions  of  the  people." 

Although,  then,  traditions  and  myths  are  of  great  im- 
portance, and  indirectly  throw  much  light  on  the  condition 
of  man  in  ancient  times,  we  must  not  expect  to  learn 
much  directly  from  them.  At  any  rate,  as  regards  the 
Stone  Age  in  Europe  both  history  and  tradition  are  ^silent, 
and  here,  as  in  all  long  civilized  countries,  stone  weapons 
and  arrow-heads  are  regarded  as  thunderbolts  or  "  Elfin  " 
arrows. 

Deprived,  therefore,  as  regards  this  period,  of  any  assistance 
from  history,  but  relieved  at  the  same  time  from  the  em- 
barrassing interference  of  tradition,  the  archajologist  is  free 
to  follow  the  methods  which  have  been  so  successfully  pursued 
in  geology — the  rude  bone  and  stone  implements  of  bygone 
ages  being  to  the  one  what  the  remains  of  extinct  animals 
are  to  the  other.  The  analogy  may  be  pursued  even  farther 
than  this.  Many  mammalia  which  are  extinct  in  Europe 
have  representatives  still  living  in  other  countries.  Much 
light  is  thrown  on  our  fossil  pachyderms,  for  instance, 
by  the  species  which  still  inhabit  some  parts  of  Asia 
and  Africa;  the  secondary  marsupials  are  illustrated  by 
their  existing  representatives  in  Australia  and  South 
America;  and  in  the  same  manner,  if  we  wish  clearly  to 


428  NO   EVIDENCE   OP   DEGRADATION. 

understand  tlie  antiquities  of  Europe,  we  must  compare  them 
with  tlie  rude  implements  and  weapons  still,  or  until  lately, 
used  by  the  savage  races  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  In 
fact,  the  Van  Diemaner  and  South  American  are  to  the 
antiquary  what  the  opossum  and  the  sloth  are  to  the  geo- 
logist. 

A  certain  space,  therefore,  devoted  to  the  consideration  of 
the  modern  savages  will  not  be  out  of  place  in  this  work ; 
and  though  it  would  require  volumes  to  do  justice  to  the 
subject,  still  it  may  be  possible  to  bring  together  a  certain 
number  of  facts  which  will  throw  light  on  the  ancient  re- 
mains found  in  Europe,  and  on  the  condition  of  the  early 
races  which  inhabited  our  continent.  In  order,  however, 
to  limit  the  subject  as  much  as  possible,  I  propose,  with  one 
exception,  to  describe  only  the  "  non-metallic  savages ''  (if 
such  an  expression  may  be  permitted)  and  even  of  these, 
only  spme  of  the  most  instructive,  or  of  those  which  have 
been  most  carefully  observed  by  travellers. 

It  is  a  common  opinion,  that  savages  are,  as  a  general 
rule,  only  the  miserable  remnants  of  nations  once  more 
civilized;  but  although  there  are  some  well-established  cases 
of  national  decay,  there  is  no  scientific  evidence  which  would 
justify  us  in  asserting  that  this  applies  to  savages  in  general. 
No  doubt  there  are  instances  in  which  nations,  once  pro- 
gressive, have  not  only  ceased  to  advance  in  civilization,  but 
have  even  fallen  back.  Still,  if  we  compare  the  accounts  of 
early  travellers  with  the  state  of  things  now  existing,  we 
shall  find  no  evidence  of  any  general  degradation.  The 
Australians,  Bushmen,  and  Fuegians  lived  when  first  observed 
almost  exactly  as  they  do  now.  In  some  savage  tribes  we 
even  find  traces  of  improvement ;  the  Bachapins,  when  visited 
by  Burchell,  had  just  introduced  the  art  of  working  in  iron ; 
the  largest  erection  in  Tahiti  was  constructed  by  the  genera- 
tion living  at  the  time  of  Captain  Cook's  visit,  and  the  prac- 


PROGRESS  AMONG   SAVAGES.  429 

tice  of  cannibalism  had  been  recently  abandoned*;  the 
largest  Mexican  temple  was  built  only  six  years  before  the 
discovery  of  America ;  in  the  north  of  Australia,  McGillivray 
tells  us  that  the  rude  bark  canoes  which  were  formerly  in 
general  use,  have  been  quite  superseded  by  those  dug  out  of 
the  trunk  of  a  tree  j  again,  outriggers  are  said  to  have  been 
recently  adopted  by  the  Andaman  Islanders ;  and  if  certain 
races,  as  for  instance  some  of  the  American  tribes,  have 
fallen  back,  this  has,  I  think,  been  due,  less  to  any  inherent 
tendency  tkan  to  the  injurious  effect  of  European  influence. 
Moreover,  if  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Australia,  New  Zea- 
land, etc.,  had  ever  been  inhabited  by  a  race  of  men  more 
advanced  than  those  whom  we  are  in  the  habit  of  regarding 
as  the  aborigines,  some  evidence  of  this  would  surely  have 
remained ;  and  this  not  being  the  case,  none  of  our  travellers 
having  observed  any  ruins,  or  other  traces  of  a  more  advanced 
civilization,  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  sufficient  reason 
for  supposing  that  these  miserable  beings  are  at  all  inferior 
to  the  ancestors  from  whom  they  are  descended. 

The  Hottentots. 

Speaking  generally,  we  may  say  that  the  use  of  metal 
has  been  long  known  throughout  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa, 
while  in  America,  in  Australia,  and  in  the  Oceanic  Islands, 
all  implements  and  weapons  were,  until  within  the  last  three 
hundred  years,  made  of  wood,  bone,  stone,  or  other  similar 
materials,  • 

The  semi-civilized  nations  of  Central  America  formed, 
indeed,  a  striking  exception  to  the  rule,  since  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  bronze.  The  North  American 
Indians   also   had   copper   hatchets,  but  these  were  simply 

*  Forstpr,  Observations  made  dur-  See  dlso  Ellis,  Polynesian  Eesearches, 
ing  a  Voyage  round  the  World,  p.  327.      vol.  ii.  p.  29. 


430  THE   HOTTENTOTS. 

hammered  into  shape,  without  the  assistance  of  heat.  Here, 
therefore,  we  seem  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  manner  in  which 
our  ancestors  may  have  acquired  the  knowledge  of  metal. 
No  doubt  the  possession  of  iron  generally  marks  a  great 
advance  in  civilization;  still  the  process  is  very  gradual, 
and  there  are  some  nations  which,  though  provided  with 
metal  implements,  are  nevertheless  but  little  removed  from  a 
state  of  barbarism. 

Thus  the  Hottentots,  who  were  not  only  acquainted  with 
the  use,  but  even  with  the  manufacture,  of  iron,  and  who 
possessed  large  numbers  of  sheep  and  cattle,  were  yet  in 
many  respects  among  the  most  disgusting  of  savages.  Even 
Kolben,  who  generally  takes  a  favourable  view  of  them, 
admits  that  they  are,  in  his  opinion,  the  filthiest  people  in 
the  world*.  We  might  go  farther,  and  say  the  filthiest 
animals;  I  think  no  species  of  mammal  could  be  fairly 
compared  with  them  in  this  respect.  Their  bodies  were 
covered  with  grease,  their  clothes  were  never  washed,  and 
their  hair  was  loaded  ''from  day  to  day  with  such  a  quantity 
of  soot  and  fat,  and  it  gathers  so  much  dust  and  other  filth, 
which  they  leave  to  clot  and  harden  in  it,  for  they  never 
cleanse  it,  that  it  looks  like  a  crust  or  cap  pf  black  mortarf.^^ 
They  wore  a  skin  over  the  back,  fastened  in  front.  They 
carried  this  as  long  as  they  lived,  and  were  buried  in  it 
when  they  died.  Their  only  other  garment  was  a  square 
piece  of  skin,  tied  round  the  waist  by  a  string,  and  left  to 
hang  down  in  front.  In  winter,  however,  they  sometimes 
used  a  cap.  For  ornamefits  they  wore  rings  of  iron,  copper, 
ivory,  or  leather.  The  latter  had  the  advantage  of  serving 
for  food  in  bad  times. 

Their  huts  were  generally  oval,  about  fourteen  feet  by 
ten  in   diameter,  and   seldom   more   than  four   or  five   in 

*  Kolben's  History  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  vol.  i.  p.  47. 
t  Kolben,  I.e.  p.  188. 


DRESS.       FOOD.       WEAPONS.  431 

heiglit.  They  were  made  of  sticks  and  mats.  The  sticks 
were  fastened  into  the  ground  at  both  ends,  or,  if  not  long 
enough,  two  were  placed  opposite  to  one  another,  and  secured 
together  at  the  top.  One  end  of  thii  hut  was  left  open  to 
form  the  door.  The  mats  were  made  of  bulrushes  and  flags 
dried  in  the  sun,  and  so  closely  fitted  together  that  only  the 
heaviest  rain  could  peneti'ate  them*.  "With  respect  to 
household  furniture,"  says  Thunbergf,  "they  have  little  or 
none.  The  same  dress  that  covers  a  part  of  their  body  by 
day,  serves  them  also  for  bedding  at  night."  Their  victuals 
are  boiled  in  leathern  sacs  and  water,  by  means  of  heated 
stones,  but  sometimes  in  earthen  pots  J.  Milk  is  kept  in 
leathern  sacs,  bladders  of  animals,  and  baskets  made  of 
platted  rushes,  perfectly  watertight.  These,  a  tobacco  pouch 
of  skin,  a  tobacco  pipe  of  stone  or  wood,  and  their  weapons, 
constitute  the  whole  catalogue  of  their  effects.  According 
to  Kolben,  they  sometimes  broiled  their  meat,  sometimes 
boiled  it  in  blood,  to  which  they  often  added  milk ;  "  this 
they  look  on  as  a  glorious  dish."  They  were,  however, 
both  filthy  and  careless  about  their  cookery,  and  the  meat 
was  often  eaten  half  putrid,  and  more  than  half  raw§. 

Their  weapons  consisted  of  bows  and  poisoned  arrows, 
spears,  javelins  or  assagais,  stones,  and  darting-sticks  or 
"kirris,"  about  three  feet  long  and  an  inch  thick.  With 
these  weapons  they  were  very  skilful,  and  feared  not  to 
attack  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  or  even  the  lion.  'Large 
animals  were  also  sometimes  killed  in  pitfalls,  from  six  to 
eight  feet  deep,  and  about  four  feet  in  diameter.  They 
fixed  a  strong  pointed  stake  in  the  middle.  "  Into  this  hole 
an  elephant  falling  with  his  fore-feet  (it  is  not  of  dimensions 
to  receive  his  whole  body),  he  is  pierced  in  the  neck  and 

*  Thunberg,  Pinkorton's  Travels,  X  This,  however,  they  appear  to 

vol.  xvi.,  p.  3.3 ;  Kolben,  I.e.  p.  221 ;  have  learnt  from  the  Europeans. 

Sparrman,  vol.  i.,  p.  195.  §  Thunberg, p.  Ill ;  Kolben, p.  203; 

+  Page  141.  HaiTis,  Wild  Sports  of  Africa,  p.  142. 


432  METALLURGY. 

breast  with  the  stake  and  there  held  securely*/^  for  the 
more  he  struggled  the  farther  it  penetrated.  They  caught 
fish  both  with  hooks  and  in  nets.  They  also  ate  wild  fruits 
and  roots  of  various  l^inds,  which,  however,  they  did  not 
take  the  trouble  to  cultivate. 

For  domestic  animals  the  Hottentots  had  oxen,  sheep,  and 
dogs.  It  might  have  naturally  been  supposed  that  oxen 
were  used  in  the  same  manner  all  over  the  world.  They 
seem  evidently  adapted  either  for  draught  or  for  food. 
With  the  dog  the  case  is  different ;  we  ourselves  use  him 
in  various  ways,  and  one  feels  therefore  the  less  surprise  at 
the  different  services  which  he  performs  for  different  races 
of  savages.  But  even  with  regard  to  cattle  the  same  was 
the  case ;  besides  what  we  may  6all  their  normal  uses,  the 
Veddahs,  or  wild  inhabitants  of  Ceylon,  used  oxen  in  hunt- 
ing ;  and  the  Hottentots  trained  some  to  serve  as  what  we 
may  call  sheep-oxen,  or  cow-oxen, — that  is  to  say^  to  guard 
and  manage  the  flocks  and  herds, — and  others  as  war-oxen, 
a  function  which  might  have  been  considered  as  opposed  to 
the  whole  character  of  the  beast,  but  in  which,  heverthe- 
less,  they  appear  to  have  been  very  useful. 

The  Hottentots  of  late  years  not  only  used  iron  weapons, 
but  even  made  such  for  themselves.  The  ore  was  smelted 
in  the  following  manner f:  "They  make  a  hole  in  a  raised 
ground,  large  enough  to  contain  a  good  quantity  of  iron- 
stones, which  are  found  here  and  there  in  plenty  in  the 
Hottentot  countries.  In  this  hole  they  melt  out  the  iron 
from  the  ore.  About  a  foot  and  a  half  from  this  hole,  upon 
the  descent,  they  make  another,  something  less.  This  is  the 
receiver  of  the  melted  iron,  which  runs  into  it  by  a  narrow 
channel  they  cut  from  one  hole  to  the  other.  Before  they 
put  the  ironstones  into  the  hole  where  the  iron  is  to  be 
smelted  out  of  them,  they  make  a  fire  in  the  hole,  quite  up 

*  Kolben,  p.  250.  f  Kolben,  I.e.  p.  239. 


CUSTOMS.       CHARACTER.  433 

to  the  moutli  of  it,  in  order  to  make  the  earth  about  it 
thoroughly  hot.  When  they  suppose  the  earth  about  it  is 
well  heated,  they  fill  the  hole  almost  up  with  ironstones. 
They  then  make  a  large  fire  over  the  stones,  which  they 
supply  from  time  to  time  with  fuel,  till  the  irbn  is  melted  aud 
all  of  it  is  run  into  the  receiver.  As  soon  as  the  iron  in  the 
receiver  is  cold,  they  take  it  out,  and  break  it  to  pieces  with 
stones.  These  pieces  the  Hottentots,  as  they  have  occasion, 
heat  in  other  fires,  and  with  stones  beat  'em  out  and  shape 
'em  to  weapons.  They  rarely  make  any  thing  else  of  iron." 
The  Hottentot  customs,  some  of  which  are  extremely 
curious,  are  fully  described  by  Thunberg*,  Kolbenf,  Cork  J, 
Sparrman§,  and  other  travellers.  Whether  the  Hottentots 
can  be  said  to  have  had  any  religion  1| ,  depends  upon  the 
exact  meaning  we  attach  to  the  word.  Though  they  seem  to 
have  had  some  notion  of  a  Deity,  even  Kolben  admits  that  they 
had  not  "any  institution  of  worship."  The  older  writers, 
indeed,  consider  certain  dances  as  being  religious  ceremonies. 
This  was  stoutly  denied  by  the  natives  themselves^,  in  spite 
of  which  Kolben  assures  us  that  they  were  "  acts  of  religion," 
adding  candidly,  "let  the  Hottentots  say  what  they  will." 
They  are  very  fond  of  smoking,  and  are  great  drunkards. 
It  is  only  ffir  to  say  that  Kolben  gives  them  a  good  character 
for  integrity,  chastity,  fidelity,  and  liberality,  assuring  us 
that  they  "  are  certainly  the  most  friendly,  the  most  liberal, 
and  the  most  benevolent  people  to  one  another  that  ever 
appeared  upon  earth**."  Other  travellers  also  speak  of 
them  in  very  high  terms ff.     At  the  same  time  it  is  difficult 

*  1.  c.  pp.  141,  142.  ion's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  153;  so  also, 

t  Pp.  113,  115,  118,  121,  153,  252.  Harris,  Wild  Sports  of  Africa,  p.  160; 

X  Hawkeaworth's    Voyages,    vol.  Sparrman,  vol.  i.  p.  207. 

iii.,  p.  791.  T[  Spamnan,  vol.  i,  p.  212;  Kol- 

§  Vol.  i.  p.  357.  ben,  1.  c. 

II  Thunberpr,  1.  c.  p.  141,  etc. ;  Kol-  **  1.  c.  p.  334. 

ben,  pp.  37, 93,  etc.  Bceckman  thouf,'ht  ft  See,  for  instance,  Philips'  South 

thoy  had  no  religion  at  all.     Pinker-  Africa,  pp.  4,  5,  6. 

30 


434  THE   BUSHMEN. 

to  see  how  these  statements  can  be  reconciled  with  the  ad- 
mitted fact  that_,  as  soon  as  any  man  or  woman  is  so  enfeebled 
by  old  age  that  he  or  she  is  unable  to  work,  and  can  "  no 
longer  " — I  am  quoting  from  Kolben  himself — ''  be  of  any 
manner  of  service  in  any  thing,  they  are  thrust  out  of  the 
society  and  confined  to  a  solitary  hut  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  kraal_,  there^  with  a  small  stock  of  pro- 
visions placed  within  theii*  reach,  but  without  any  one  to 
comfort  or  assist  ^em,  to  die  either  of  age  or  hunger^  or  be 
devoured  by  some  wild  beast*/'  This,  it  must  be  remem- 
beredj  was  no  exceptional  atrocity,  but  a  general  custom, 
and  applied  to  the  rich  as  well  as  the  poor,  for  if  an  old 
man  had  property  it  was  taken  away  from  him.  Infanticide, 
again,  was  very  common  among  them,  and  was  not  regarded 
as  a  crime.  Girls  were  generally  the  victims,  and  if  a 
woman  had  twins,  the  ugliest  of  them  was  almost  always 
exposed  or  buried  alive.  This  was  done  with  the  consent  of 
"  the  whole  kraal,  which  generally  allows  it  without  taking 
much  pains  to  look  into  itf."  The  poverty  and  the  hard- 
ships which  they  had  to  undergo  may  perhaps  plead  as  some 
excuse  for  these  two  unnatural  customs. 

The  Bushmen  resembled  the  Hottentots  in  many  things, 
but  were  even  more  uncivilized.  They  had  no*  knowledge 
of  metallurgy,  no  domestic  animals,  and  no  canoes.  They 
frequently  stole  the  cattle  of  their  more  advanced  neigh- 
bours, but  always  killed  and  ate  them  as  quickly  as  possible. 
Their  principal  weapons  were  bows  and  poisoned  arrows. 
Lichtenstein  asserts  that  they  had  no  names  J,  but  this  was 
probably  an  error.  Bleek  regards  them  as  the  lowest  of 
human  races,  and  Haeckel  even  goes  so  far  as  to  assert  that 
they  seem   ^'to  the  unprejudiced   comparative   student   of 


*  1.  c.  p.  321.  %  Liditenstein's  Travels  in  South- 

t  1.  c.  p.  144i.  ^  em  Africa,  vol.  i.  p.  192. 


i 


THE   VEDDAHS.  435 

nature,  to  manifest  a  closer  connexion  with  the  gorilla  and 
chimpanzee  than  with  a  Kant  or  a  Goethe*." 

The  Veddahs. 

The  Veddahs,  or  wild  tribes  who  inhabit  the  interior  of 
Ceylon,  have  been  described  by  Knoxf,  TennantJ,  and 
Bailey  §.  They  live  in  huts  very  rudely  formed  of  boi%h8 
and  bark,  and  cultivate  small  patches  of  chena,  but  subsist 
principally  on  honey  and  the  produce  of  the  chase.  Their 
weapons  consist  of  axes  and  bows  and  arrows.  With  the 
latter  they  are  not  very  skilful,  as  they  pursue  only  the 
larger  game,  and  the  art  of  hunting  consists  in  creeping 
close  up  to  their  prey  and  taking  it  unawares.  They  are 
very  good  deer- stalkers,  and,  besides  excellent  dogs,  have 
also  hunting  buffaloes.  These  are  so  trained  that  they  are 
easily  guided  by  a  string  tied  round  the  horn,  and  are  used 
at  night.  The  buffalo  feeds,  the  man  crouches  behind  him, 
and  thus,  unseen  and  unsuspected,  steals  upon  his  prey. 

They  have  no  pottery,  and  their  cooking  is  very  primitive. 
They  wear  scarcely  any  clothes,  nothing  in  fact  but  a  scrap 
of  dirty  rag,  supported  in  front  by  a  string  tied  roimd  the 
waist.  Perhaps  the  women^s  cloth  is  a  trifle  larger  than  the 
men's,  but  that  appears  to  be  the  only  difference.  They  are 
very  dirty,  and  very  small ;  the  ordinary  height  of  the  men 
being  from  four  feet  six  to  five  feet  one,  and  of  the  women 
from  four  feet  four  to  four  feet  eight.  Mr.  Bailey  thinks 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  conceive  more  barbarous 
specimens  of  the  human  race.  Davy  even  asserts  that  they 
have  no  names,  and  do  not  bury  the  dead. 


*  On  the  Origin  of  Language,  by  J  Ceylon. 

W.  IT.  J.  Bleek.     Edited  by  Dr.  E.  §  Transactions  of  the  Ethnological 

Haeckol,  pp.  4,  5.  Society.     New  Ser.     Vol.  ii.  p.  278. 

t  An  Historical  Kelation  of  Ceylon.  See  also  Davy's  Ceylon. 
1681. 


436  THE    ANDAMAN   ISLANDERS. 

They  have^  lioweyer,  one  remarkable  peculiarity  which  it 
would  be  unfair  to  omit.  They  are  kind^  affectionate,  and 
constant  to  their  wives;  abhor  polygamy,  and  hare  a  proverb 
that  "  Death  alone  can  separate  husband  and  wife.*'  In  this 
they  are  very  unlike  their  more  civilized  neighbours*.  An 
intelligent  Kandyan  chief,  with  whom  Mr.  Bailey  visited 
these  Veddahs,  was  "  perfectly  scandalized  at  the  utter  bar- 
barism of  living  with  only  one  wife,  and  never  parting  until 
separated  by  death."  It  was,  he  said,  "just  like  the  wan- 
deroos  "  (monkeys) .  Even  in  their  marriage  relations,  how- 
ever, the  Veddahs  cannot  altogether  be  commended,  as  it  is 
— qr  was  until  lately — very  usual  with  them  for  a  man  to 
marry  his  younger  sister.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  as 
marriage  with  an  elder  sister  seemed  to  them  as  horrible  as 
it  does  to  us. 

The  Andaman  Islanders. 

The  Mincopies,  or  inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands, 
have  been  described  by  Dr.  Mouattf,  Sir  E.  Belcher  J,  and 
Prof.  Owen  || ,  who  considers  that  they  "  are,  perhaps,  the 
most  primitive,  or  lowest  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  of  the 
human  race.''  Their  huts  consist  of  four  posts,  the  two 
front  qnes  six  to  eight  feet  high,  the  back  ones  only  one  or 
two  feet.  They  are  open  at  the  sides,  and  covered  with  a 
roof  of  bamboo,  or  a  few  palm-leaves  bound  tightly  together. 
The  Mincopies^  live  chiefly  on  fruit,  mangroves,  and  shell- 
fish. Sometimes,  however,  they  kill  the  small  pigs,  which 
run  wild  in  the  jungle. 

They  have  single-tree  canoes,  hollowed  out  with  a p-shaped 

*  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  the  X  Belcher,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  New 

Kandyans  are  said  to  have  much  im-  Ser.  vol.  v.  p.  40. 

proved  in  this  respect  of  late  years.  ||  Transactions  of  the  Ethnological 

t  Adventures     and      Researches  Society.     New  Ser.  vol.  ii.  p.  34. 

among  the  Andaman  Islanders.  _; 


THE   ANDAMAN    ISLANDERS.  437 

axe,  assisted  probably  by  the  action  of  fire.  They  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  use  of  outriggers,  which,  however,  appear 
to  have  been  of  recent  introduction,  as  they  are  not  alluded 
to  by  the  earlier  writers*.  Their  arrows  and  spears  are  now 
generally  tipped  with  iron  and  glass,  which  they  obtain  from 
wrecks,  and  which  have  replaced  bone.  Their  harpoons,  like 
those  of  so  many  other  savages,  have  a  movable  head,  and 
a  long  cord  by  which  this  may  be  held  when  fixed  in  the 
victim f.  They  are  very  skilful  with  the  bow,  and  ""make 
practice  at  forty  or  fifty  yards  with  unerring  certainty  J," 
though,  their  arrows  have  no  feathers.  Their  nets  are  made 
with  great  ingenuity  and  neatness.  They  have  no  pottery, 
but  use  either  shells  or  pieces  of  bamboo  to  hold  water. 
They  kill  fish  by  harpoons,  or  with  small  hand-nets  they  take 
any  that  are  left  by  the  tide,  and  it  is  even  said  that  they  are 
able  to  dive  and  catch  them  with  their  hands  §. 

They  cover  themselves  with  mud,  and  also  tattoo,  but  wear 
no  clothes.  Indeed  they  appear  to  be  entirely  without  any 
sense  of  shame,  and  many  of  their  habits  are  like  those  of 
beasts.  They  are  stated  to  have  no  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being, 
no  religion,  nor  any  belief  in  a  future  state  of  existence.  After 
death,  the  corpse  is  buried  in  a  sitting  posture.  When  it  is 
supposed  to  be  entirely  decayed,  the  skeleton  is  dug  up,  and 
each  of  the  relations  appropriates  a  bone.  In  the  case  of  a 
married  man,  the  widow  takes  the  skull  and  wears  it  sus- 
pended by  a  cord  round  her  neck||.  It  forms  a  very  con- 
venient box  for  small  articles.  Marriage,  however,  only  lasts 
until  the  child  is  born  and  weaned,  when,  according  to  Lieut. 
St.  John,  as  quoted  by  Sir  E.  Belcher,  the  man  and  woman 
generally  separate,  each  seeking  a  new  partner^. 


*  Monatt,  1.  c.  p.  317.  §  Mouatt,  1.  c.  pp.  310,  333. 

t  Mouatt,  1.  c.  p.  326.  (|  Mouatt,  1.  c.  p.  327.     Belcher, 

X  Belcher,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  New       I.  c.  p.  43. 
Ser.  vol.  V.  p.  49.  Tf  1.  c.  p.  45. 


438  THE    AUSTRALIANS. 

They  have  no  dogs,  nor  any  domestic   animals,   unless, 
indeed,  their  poultry  may  be  regarded  as  such. 


The  Australians. 

Throughout  the  whole  continent  of  Australia  the  aborigines 
were  remarkably  similar  iu  physical  appearance,  in  character, 
and  in  general  habits.  They  were,  in  some  respects,  scarcely, 
if  at  all,  farther  advanced  than  those  of  the  Andaman  Islands. 
The  "  houses "  observed  by  Captain  Cook  "  at  Botany  Bay, 
where  they  were  best,  were  just  high  enough  for  a  man  to  sit 
upright  in ;  but  not  large  enough  for  him  to  extend  himself 
in  his  whole  length  in  any  direction ;  they  were  built  with 
pliable  rods  about  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  in  the  form  of 
an  oven,  by  sticking  the  two  ends  into  the  ground,  and  then 
covering  them  with  palm  leaves  and  broad  pieces  o£  bark ;  the 
door  is  nothing  but  a  large  hole  at  one  end.''  Eyre  also  gives 
a  very  similar  description  of  those  observed  by  him  *.  Further 
north,  where  the  chmate  was  warmer,  the  dwellings  were 
even  less  substantial,  and  being  comparatively  open  on  one 
side,  scarcely  deserve  even  the  name  ,of  huts,  and  were  little 
more  than  a  protection  against  the  wind.  Finally,  the  natives 
observed  by  Dampier  near  C.  Leveque,  on  the  north-west 
coast,  seem  to  have  had  no  houses  at  all.  Round  their 
dwelling-places  Captain  Cook  observed  "  vast  heaps  of  shells, 
the  fish  of  which  we  suppose  had  been  their  foodf."  Captain 
Grey  also  describes  similar  shell  mounds  J,  some  of  which 
covered  quite  half  an  acre,  and  were  as  much  as  ten  feet 
high.  They  seem,  however,  to  have  been  first  noticed  by 
Dampier  §. 


*  Discoveries  in  Central  Australia,  %  1.  c.   vol.  i.   p.   110.      See  also 

vol.  ii.  p.  300.  King's  Anstralia,  vol.  i.  p.  87. 

t  First     Voyage,     vol.      iii.      p.  §  Pinkerton's    Voyages,     vol.    iL 

598.  p.  473. 


HOUSES.      FOOD.  439 

The  food  of  the  Australian  savages  differs  much  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  continent.  Speaking  generally,  it  may  be 
said  to  consist  of  various  roots,  fruits,  fungi,  shell-fish,  frogs, 
snakes,  honey,  grubs,  moths,  birds,  birds'  eggs,  fish,  turtles, 
dog,  kangaroo,  and  sometimes  of  seal  and  whale*.  The 
kangaroo,  however,  forms  only  an  occasional  luxury,  nor  are 
the  natives,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  able  to  kill  whales  for  them- 
selves, but  when  one  is  washed  on  shore  it  is  a  real  godsend 
to  them.  Fires  are  immediately  lit  to  give  notice  of  the  joyful 
event.  Then  they  rub  themselves  all  over  with  blubber,  and 
anoint  their  favourite  wives  in  the  same  way ;  after  which 
they  cut  down  through  the  blubber  to  the  beef,  which  they 
sometimes  eat  raw  and  sometimes  broil  on  pointed  sticks. 
As  other  natives  arrive  they  "  fairly  eat  their  way  into  the 
whale,  and  you  see  them  climbing  in  and  about  the  stinking 
carcase,  choosing  titbits."  For  days  ^^they  remain  by  the 
carcase,  rubbed  from  head  to  foot  with  stinking  blubber, 
gorged  to  repletion  with  putrid  meat — out  of  temper  from 
indigestion,  and  therefore  engaged  in  constant  frays — suffer- 
ing from  a  cutaneous  disorder  by  high  feeding — and  alto- 
gether a  disgusting  spectacle.  There  is  no  sight  in  the 
world,"  Captain  Grey  adds,  "  more  revolting  than  to  see  a 
young  and  gracefully-formed  native  girl  stepping  out  of  the 
carcase  of  a  putrid  whale."  The  Australians  also  mash  up 
bones  and  suck  out  the  fat  contained  in  them.  Like  other 
savages,  they  are  excessively  fond  of  fatty  substances. 

In  a  cave  on  the  north-eastern  coast,  Mr.  Cunningham 
observed  certain  "tolerable  figures  of  shai'ks,  porpoises, 
turtles,  lizards,  trepang,  starfish,  clubs,  canoes,  water-gourds, 
and  some  quadrupeds  which  were  probably  intended  to 
represent  kangaroos  and  "dogs."     The  natives  round  Sy^ey 

*  Grey's  Explorations  in  North-       Voyage  of  H.M.S.  Rattlesnake,  vol.  i. 
West  and  Western  Australia,  p.  263  ;       p.  148. 
Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  251 ;  McGillivray's 


440 


EOCK   ENGRAVINGS.       CANOES. 


also  frequently  drew  upon  the  rocks  "various  figures  of 
fish,  clubs,  swords,  animals,  and  branches  of  trees,  not  con- 
temptibly represented*."  Other  tribes  are  very  deficient  in 
art,  and  according  to  Mr.  Oldfield  are  "quite  unable  to 
realize  the  most  vivid  artistic  representations.  On  being 
shown  a  large  coloured  engraving  of  an  aboriginal  New 
Hollander,  one  declared  it  to  be  a  ship,  another  a  kangaroo, 
and  so  on;  not  one  of  a  dozen  identifying  the  portrait  as 
having  any  connexion  with  himself f."  It  is  not,  however, 
quite  clear  to  me  that  they  were  not  poking  fun  at  Mr. 
Oldfield. 

On  the  north-eastern  coasts  they  use  canoes  made  from  the 
trunks  of  trees,  each  canoe  being  formed  from  a  single  trunk, 
probably  hollowed  by  fii-e.  "They  are  about  fourteen  feet 
long,  and  being  very  narrow,  are  fitted  with  an  outrigger  J. '^ 
Farther  south  the  canoes  were  nothing  but  a  piece  of  bark, 
tied  together  at  the  ends  and  kept  open  in  the  middle  by 
small  bows  of  wood.  The  western  tribes  had  no  canoes  §, 
owing,  according  to  King||,  to  the  absence  of  large  timber^. 
Instead  of  a  boat  they  used  a  log  of  wood,  on  which  they  sat 
astride,  with  a  bit  of  bark  in  each  hand,  which  served  as  a 
paddle.  Some  tribes  fasten  four  or  five  mangrove  stems 
together  so  as  to  make  a  small  float  or  raft.  The  natives 
observed  by  Dampier  were  even  worse  off  in  this  respect; 
they  had  "no  boats,  canoes,  or  bark  logs.^^  Yet  they 
dwelt  on  the  shore,  lived  principally  on  fish,  and  swam  about 
from  island  to  island.  The  Western  Australians,  according 
to  Jukes,  had  neither  boats  nor  rafts,  "  and  the  islands  close 


*  King,  vol.  ii.  p.  26;  Grey,  vol.  i. 
p.  259;  Collins,  p.  381. 

t  Oldfield  on  the  Aborigines  of 
Australia.  Transactions  of  the  Eth- 
nological  Society.    New  Ser.  vol.  iii. 

J  Freycinet,  Voyage  autour  du 
Monde,  vol.  ii.  p.  V05 ;  Jukes,  Voy- 
age of  H.M.S.  Fly,  ii.  243. 


§  Cook's  First  Voyage,  vol,  iii. 
p.  643. 

II  \  c.  vol.  i.  pp.  38.  43.  49;  vol.  ii. 
pp.  66.  69. 

"H  In  his  view,  however,  of  Careen- 
ing Bay,  the  country  appears  to  be 
well  wooded. 


IMPLEMENTS.  441 

to  tlie  mainland  had  never  been  visited  by  them  previously 
to  the  founding  of  our  colonies."  So  also  the  natives  near 
Sydney  are  said  to  have  been  unable  to  swim*.  The  absence 
of  canoes  is  very  remarkable  in  a  people  whose  habits  were 
so  littoral^  and  whose  food  was  derived  almost  entirely  from 
the  sea. 

The  implements  of  the  Australians  are  very  simple.  They 
have  no  knowledge  of  pottery,  and  carry  water  in  skins  or  in 
vessels  made  of  bark.  They  are  quite  ignorant  of  warm 
water,  which  strikes  them  with  great  amazement  f.  Some 
of  them  carry  "  a  small  bag,  about  the  size  of  a  moderate 
cabbage-net,  which  is  made  by  laying  threads  loop  within 
loOp,  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  knitting  used  by  our  ladies 
to  make  purses.  Tliis  bag  the  man  carries  loose  upon  his 
back  by  a  small  string,  which  passes  over  his  head ;  it  gene- 
rally contains  a  lump  or  two  of  paint  and  resin,  some  fish- 
hooks and  lines,  a  shell  or  two,  out  of  which  their  hooks 
are  made,  a  few  points  of  darts,  and  their  usual  ornaments, 
which  includes  the  whole  worldly  treasure  of  the  richest 
man  among  them." 

A  very  similar  inventory  is  given  by  Capt.  Grey,  who 
adds,  however,  a  flat  stone  to  pound  roots  with  J.  They 
have  a}so  stone  hatchets,  hammers,  knives,  pieces  of  flint, 
and  sticks  to  dig  up  roots.  The  hammer  is  used  for  killing 
seals  or  other  animals,  and  for  breaking  open  shell-fish. 
The  handle  is  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  long,  pointed  at 
one  end,  and  having  on  each  side  at  the  other  a  hard  stone 
attached  to  the  handle  by  a  mass  of  gum.  The  knives  (fig. 
205,  which  represents  a  specimen  presented  to  me  by  A.  W. 
Franks,  Esq.)  have  a  similar  handle,  and  at  the  end  a  few 
splinters  of  quartz  or  flint,  arranged  in  a  row  and  fastened 
into  a  slit  with  gum  in  the  same  manner. 

*  Voyage  of  the  Novara.    English  f  B'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  461. 

Traais.  vol.  iii.  p.  36.  X  ^-  c-  P-  266. 


442 


CLUBS.      SPEAES. 


Fig.  205.     Fig.  206. 


Fig.  207. 


Australian 
Knife. 


The  natives  of  Botany  Bay  liad 
fish-hooksj  but  no  nets;  on  the  con- 
trary^ Capt.  Grey^  in  describing 
those  of  Western  Australia^  men- 
tions nets,  but  not  hooks;  Eyre  also 
states  that  hooks  were  unknown  in 
South  Australia_,  while  nets  were 
used  in  hunting  and  as  bags;  lastly, 
the  natives  of  the  north-west,  accord- 
ing to  Dampier,  had  '^no  instru- 
ments to  catch  great  fish."  Those 
"^yi;^  seen  by  King  were  also  without 
hooks  or  nets*.  Throughout  the 
continent  they  were  ignorant  both 
of  slings  and  bows  and  arrows.  On 
the  other  hand  they  had  spears, 
clubs  (fig.  206),  shields,  and  two 
very  peculiar  instruments,  namely, 
the  throwing-stick  (fig.  207),  and  the 
boomerang  (fig.  208).  The  spear, 
however,  is  their  national  weapon. 
These  are  about  ten  feet  long,  and 
very  slender,  made  of  cane  or  wood, 
tapering  to  a  point,  which  is  barbed. 
They  are  light,  and  one  would  scarcely 
be  inclined  to  believe  that  they  could 
be  darted  with  any  force :  this,  how- 
ever, is  effected  by  the  aid  of  the 
wummera,  a  straight  flat  stick,  three 
feet  in  length,  terminating  in  a 
socket  of  bone  or  hide,  into  which 

Australian  Australian     ^^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^    ^P^^l'   ^^   ^^^^-       ^lie 

Club.    Spear-caster,  ^^.^j^jj^gj,^    -g  grasped  in  tho  right 
*  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


THEOWING-STICKS. 


443 


hand  by  three  fingers  (fig.  207),  the  spear  lying  between  the 
fore-finger  and  thumb.  Previous  to  throwing  it,  a  tremulous 
or   vibratory  motion   is    given   to    it,  ^^^  jos 

which  is  supposed  to  add  to  the  accu- 
racy of  the  aim :  in  projecting  the 
spear,  the  wummc^a  is  retained  in  tlu 
hand,  and  the  use  of  this  simple  con- 
trivance adds  greatly  to  the  projectile 
force  given  to  the  spear.  They  are 
well  practised  in  the  use  of  these 
weapons*.  Indeed,  Capt.  Grey  tells 
us  that  he  has  often  seen  them  kill  a 
pigeon  with  a  spear  at  a  distance  of 
thirty  yards,  and  Captain  Cook  says 
that  "  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards  these 
Indians  were  more  sure  of  their  mark 
than  we  could  be  with  a  single  bullet  f-^' 
The  very  long  Australian  spears  are 
not  thrown  with  the  wummera,  but  by 
the  strength  of  the  arm  alone.  They 
are  of  several  kinds;  those  used  for 
striking  turtle  or  dugong,  have  a 
movable,  barbed  blade,  which  is  at- 
tached by  a  string  to  the  butt-end  of 
the  spear;  when  the  turtle  is  struck, 
the  shaft  becomes  detached  from  the  Boomerang, 

point,  which  remains  fixed  in  the  body,  while  the  shaft  serves 
partly  to  impede  the  motions,  and  partly  as  a  float  to  indicate 
the  position  of  the  turtle  J."  A  similar  weapon  is  used  by 
the  Esquimaux,  the  Mincopies,  the  Fuegians,  the  Brazihan 
Indians,  and  other  savages.     But  the  most  extraordinary  wea- 


/■ 


*  United    States  Explor.  Exped. 
vol.  i.  p.  191. 
t  Cook,  1.  c.  64i2. 


J  Hawkesworth's  Voyages,  vol.  iii. 
p.  636.  See  also  Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  305. 
McGillivray,  vol.  i.  p.  147. 


444  THE    BOOMERANG. 

pon^  and  one  quite  peculiar  to  Australia,  is  the  boomerang. 
This  is  a  curved  stick,  generally  rounded  on  one  side,  flatter 
on  the  other,  about  three  feet  long  and  two  inches  wide,  by 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick.  At  first  sight  it  looks  some- 
thing like  a  very  rude  wooden  sword.  It  was  used  both  in 
the  chase  and  in  war.  "  It  is  grasped  %t  one  end  in  the 
right  hand,  and  is  thrown  sickle-wise,  either  upwards  into 
the  air,  or  downwards  so  as  to  strike  the  ground  at  some 
distance  from  the  thrower.  In  the  first  case  it  flies  with  a 
rotatory  motion,  as  its  shape  would  indicate;  after  ascending 
to  a  great  height  in  the  air,  it  suddenly  returns  in  an  ellipti- 
cal orbit  to  a  spot  near  its  startiiag-point.  On  throwing  it 
downwards  on  the  ground,  it  rebounds  in  a  straight  line, 
pursuing  a  ricochet  motion  until  it  strikes  the  object  at  which 
it  is  thrown.  Birds  and  small  animals  are  killed  with  it,  and 
it  is  also  used  in  killing  ducks.  The  most  singular  curve 
described  by  it  is  when  thrown  into  the  air,  above  the  angle 
of  45° ;  its  flight  is  always  then  backwards,  and  the  native 
who  throws  "it  stands  with  his  back,  instead  of  his  face,  to 
the  object  he  is  desirous  of  hitting*."  Mr.  Merry,  a  gentle- 
man who  resided  for  some  time  in  Australia,  informs  me  that 
on  one  occasion,  in  order  to  test  the  skill  with  which  the 
boomerang  could  be  thrown,  he  offered  a  reward  of  sixpence 
for  every  time  the  boomerang  was  made  to  return  to  the  spot 
from  which  it  was  thrown.  He  drew  a  circle  of  five  or  six 
feet  on  the  sand,  and  although  the  boomerang  was  thrown 
with  much  force,  the  native  succeeded  in  making  it  fall 
within  the  circle  five  times  out  of  twelve.  Eyre  also  says 
that  this  weapon  is  particularly  useful  in  war,  "as  it  is 
almost  impossible,  even  when  it  is  seen  in  the  air,  to  tell 
which  way  it  wUl  go,  or  where  descend.  I  once  nearly  had 
my  arm  broken  by  a  wangno,  whilst  standing  within  a  yard 
of  the  native  who  threw  it,  and  looking  out  purposely  for 
*  United  States  Explor.  Exped.  1.  c. 


FIRE.  445 

it*/^  Mr.  Oldfieldf,  on  tte  contrary,  speaks  mucli  less 
favourably  of  the  boomerang.  It  is,  lie  says,  but  little  used 
in  wai',  nor  do  the  natives  "  ever  attempt  to  kill  a  solitary 
bird  or  beast  by  means  of"  it.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
swampy  localities,  where  waterfowl  "  congregate  largely,  the 
boomerang  is  of  essential  use ;  for  a  great  number  of  them 
being  simultaneously  hurled  into  a  large  flock  of  waterfowl, | 
ensures  the  capture  of  considerable  numbers." 

The  Australians  obtain  fire  by  rubbing  together  two  pieces' 
of  wood.  The  process,  however,  being  one  of  considerable 
labour,  particularly  in  damp  weather,  great  care  is  taken  to 
prevent  the  fire,  when  once  lighted,  from  becoming  extin- 
guished. For  this  reason  they  often  carry  with  them  a  cone 
of  banksia,  which  burns  slowly  like  amadou  \. 

Mr.  Stuart  informs  me  that  some  of  the*  northern  tribes 
had  no  means  of  relighting  their  fires,  but  if  they  ever  be- 
came simultaneously  extinguished,  used  to  go  to  a  neigh- 
bouring tribe  for  a  fresh  light.  So  also,  according  to  M. 
Angas,  some  of  the  western  tribes  "  have  no  means  of  kind- 
ling fire.  They  say  that  it  formerly  came  down  from  the 
north,"  and  if  it  happens  to  go  out  they  procure  it  again 
from  some  neighbouring  encampment  §. 

According  to  Captain  Cook,  the  Australians  had  "  no  idea 
of  traffic,  nor,"  he  says,  "could  we  communicate  any  to 
them :  they  received  the  things  which  we  gave  them,  but 
never  appeared  to  understand  our  signs  when  we  required  a 
return.  The  same  indifference  which  prevented  them  from 
buying  what  we  had,  prevented  them  also  from  attempting 
to  steal :  if  they  had  coveted  more,  they  would  have  been 
less  honest  ||."     In  other  parts,  however,  they  are  more  ad- 


*  1.  c,  vol.  ii.  p.  308.  §  Savage  Life  and  Scenes,  vol.  i. 

t  Trans.  Ethn.  See.  N.  S.  vol.  iii.  p.  112. 
p.  264..  II  1.  c.  p.  635. 

X  D'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  194. 


446  CLOTHES.       ORNAMENTS.       TATTOOING. 

vanced  in  this  respect.  Yarious  kinds  of  pigments,  feathers, 
shells,  implements,  and  especially  flints,  are  the  principal 
articles  of  barter. 

The  Australians  observed  by  Cook,  Dampier,  and  Flinders 
were  entirely  destitute  of  clothing,  and  their  principal  orna- 
ment consisted  of  a  bone,  five  or  six  inches  long,  and  half  an 
inch  thick,  thrust  through  the  cartilage  of  the  nose.  They 
did  not  tattoo.  On  the  north-vrest  coast.  King  observed 
some  of  the  natives  with  a  very  peculiar  decoration.  At 
every  three  inches  between  the  upper  part  of  the  chest  and 
the  navel,  the  body  was  scarified  in  horizontal  bands,  the 
cicatrices  of  which  were  at  least  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
raised  half  an  inch  from  the  body  *.  Some  of  them  fastened 
to  their  hair,  by  means  of  gum,  teeth  of  kangaroos  or  of 
men,  dogs'  taill,  fish-bones,  bits  of  wood,  and  other  objects 
which  they  regarded  as  ornamental.  Frequently  they  wore 
pieces  of  opossum,  or  kangaroo-skin — not  for  decency,  how- 
ever, but  for  warmth,  and  while  hunting,  as  a  protection  from 
thorns.  According  to  D'Urville,  however,  the  natives  of 
New  South  Wales  ditl  not  think  it  decent  that  young  chil- 
dren should  go  quite  naked  f-  McGillivray  also  mentions  a 
very  similar  idea  at  Moreton  Bay.  In  many  parts  of  Aus- 
tralia the  natives  also  paint  themselves,  red  and  white  being 
the  favourite,  or  at  least  the  commonest  colours.  The  red 
is  laid  on  in  broad  patches,  the  white  generally  in  stripes  or 
spots,  a  circle  often  being  drawn  round  each  eye.  Some 
tribes,  but  not  all,  tattoo  themselves  on  the  back  and  breast 
in  rows,  rings,  and  semicircles.  Among  the  females  on  the 
Murray,  the  only  ceremony  of  importance  with  which  Eyre 
was  acquainted  was  that  of  scarring  the  back.  Eyye  indeed 
calls  it  tattooing,  but  "  crimping  "  would,  I  think,  be  a  more 
correct  expression.  It  takes  place  at  the  age  of  puberty,  and 
is  extremely  painful.  The  young  woman  kneels  down  and 
*  1.  c.  p.  42.  t  Voyage  de  I'Astralabe,  vol.  i.  p.  471. 


INITIATION    CEREMONIES.       GAMES.  447 

places  her  head  between  the  knees  of  a  strong  old  woman, 
and  the  operator,  who  is  always  a  man,  cuts  the  back  with  a 
piece  of  shell  or  flint  in  rows  of  long,  deep  gashes  from  left 
to  right  quite  across  the  back,  and  completely  up  to  the 
shoulders.  The  whole  scene  is  most  revolting,  the  blood 
gushes  out  in  torrents,  and  saturates  the  ground,  while  the 
cries  of  the  poor  victim  gradually  rise  into  screams  of  agony. 
Still  the  girls  submit  voluntarily,  as  a  well-carved  back  is 
much  admired.  The  lads  also  generally  have  to  undergo  a 
ceremony  of  initiation  before  they  are  permitted  to  rank  as 
men.  This  sometimes  consists  in  circumcision*,  sometimes 
in  another  almost  incredible  ceremonial  f,  or  frequently  in 
punching  out  one  of  the  front  teeth.  Other  tribes  have 
peculiar  and  distinctive  incisions,  such  as  scars  running 
across  the  chest,  circles  on  the  shoulders,  or  various  com- 
binations of  small  dots. 

In  the  Adelaide  district,  according  to  Mr.  Moorhouse, 
there  are  five  distinct  stages  of  initiation,  before  the  native 
is  admitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  a  man.  Yet  the  Austra- 
lians cannot  be  said  to  have  any  form  of  government,  nor 
have  any  distinctions  of  rank,  or  recognized  chiefs,  ever  been 
found  amongst  them. 

The  children  have  a  game  with  string  something  like  our 
cat's-cradle,  but  their  principal  amusements  consist  in  learn- 
iug  to  hunt,  fish,  etc.  The  elder  people  are  fond  of  dances, 
which  may  be  divided  into  war- dances,  hunting-dances,  and 
love-dances, — the  two  latter  being  most  common.  These  gene- 
rally take  place  when  tribes  meet,  and  are  held  at  night.  Their 
songs  are  rude,  with  simple  and  generally  extempore  words. 

They  have  no  systematized  religion,  nor  any  worship  or 
prayer  ;  but  most  of  them  believe  in  evil  spirits,  and  all  have 
a  great  dread  of  the  dark,  and  of  witchcraft.     In  fact,  they 
believe  that  no  one  ever  dies  a  natural  death. 
*  Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  332.     +  Funditur  usque  ad  urethram  k  parte  infera  penis. 


448  SUPERSTITION.       MODES    OP   BURIAL.      LANGUAGE. 

Captain  Wilkes  *  describes  an  Australian  funeral  as  fol- 
lows. Almost  immediately  after  deatli  the  corpse  was  ar- 
ranged in  a  sitting  posture^  the  knees  bent  up  close  to  the 
body,  the  head  pressed  forwards^  and  the  whole  body  closely 
tied  up  in  a  blanket.  An  oval  grave  was  then  dug,  about  six 
feet  long,  three  wide,  and  five  deep.  At  the  bottom  was  a 
bed  of  leaves,  covered  with  an  opossum-skin  cloak,  and  with 
a  stuflPed  bag  of  kangaroo-skin  for  a  pillow ;  on  this  the  body 
was  laid  with  its  implements  and  weapons.  Above  the 
corpse  were  strewn  leaves  and  branches,  and  the  hole  was 
then  filled  up  with  stones.  Finally,  the  earth  which  had 
been  removed  was  put  over  the  whole,  making  a  mound 
eight  or  nine  feet  high.  According  to  D^Urville  the  natives 
of  New  South  Wales  bury  the  young,  and  burn  the  oldf. 
Other  tribes  dispose  of  their  dead  in  other  ways ;  but  none 
of  them  were  addicted  to  cannibalism  as  a  matter  of  habit  or 
choice,  although  they  were  not  unfrequently  driven  to  it  by 
the  scarcity  of  other  food. 

No  single  fact,  perhaps,  gives  us  a  more  vivid  idea  of  the 
mental  condition  of  these  miserable  savages,  than  the  obser- 
vation that  they  cannot  count  their  own  fingers — not  even 
those  of  oue  hand.  Mr.  Crawfurd  J  has  examined  the  nume- 
rals of  thirty  Australian  languages,  ''  and  in  no  instance  do 
they  appear  to  go  beyond  the  number  four."  Mr.  Scott 
Nind,  indeed,  has  given  an  account  of  the  Australians  of 
King  George's  Sound,  to  which  a  vocabulary  is  annexed, 
containing  the  numerals,  which  are  made  to  reach  the  num- 
ber five.  The  term  for  this  last  unit,  however,  turns  out  to 
be  only  the  word  "  many.  In  fact,  the  word  "  five  "  con- 
veys to  them  the  idea  of  a  great  number,  as  a  "hundred" 
or  a  "  thousand  "  does  to  us. 

Their  language,  moreover,  contains  "  no  generic  terms  as 

*  1.  c.  vol.  ii  p.  195.     Fitzroy,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  628.  f  "^^ol.  i.  p.  472. 

J  Transactions  of  Ethn.  Soc.  New  Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  84. 


MARRIAGE.  449 

tree,  fish,  bird,  etc.,  but  only  specific  ones,  as  applied  to  each 
particular  variety  *." 

Polygamy  is  permitted ;  but  a  man  who  takes  more  than 
two  wives  is  generally  looked  upon  as  a  selfish  and  unreason- 
able person,  nor  is  any  man  allowed  to  marry  a  woman  of 
his  own  name.  If  a  married  man  dies,  his  brother  inherits 
the  wife,  who  "  goes  to  her  second  husband's  hut  three  days 
after  the  death  of  her  first." 

Though  they  are  ajjparently  fond  of  their  childi'cn,  even 
Eyre  admits  that  there  is  little  affection  between  husband 
and  wife.  "  After  a  long  absence,"  he  says,  "  I  have  seen 
natives  upon  their  return,  go  to  their  camp,  exhibiting  the 
most  stoical  indifference,  never  take  the  least  notice  of  their 
wives,  but  sit  down,  and  act  and  look  as  if  they  had  never 
been  out  of  the  encampment  f."  Women,  in  fact,  are  re- 
garded as  mere  property.  There  is  no  ceremony  of  mar- 
riage, and  chastity  is  entirely  disregarded,  wives  being  valued 
principally  for  their  services  as  slaves,  and  terribly  ill-treated. 
''  No  one,"  says  Eyre,  "  ever  attempts  to  take  the  part 
of  a  female  J."  Beauty  only  makes  matters  worse.  ^""The 
early  life,"  says  Captain  Grey,  "  of  a  young  woman  at  all 
celebrated  for  beauty  is  generally  one  continued  series  of 
captivity  to  different  masters,  of  ghastly  wounds,  rapid  flights, 
and  bad  treatment  from  other  females§,"  jealous  of  her  supe- 
rior attractions.  Few  women  in  Australia,  it  is  said,  live  to 
thirty.  Yet  with  all  this  lawlessness,  and  tyranny,  marriage 
is  regulated  by  certain  very  curious  prohibitions.  Thus  a  man 
may  steal  another  man's  wife  if  he  can,  but,  as  already  men- 
tioned, he  may  not  under  any  circumstances  marry  a  woman  of 
the  same  family  name,  even  though  not  related  in  the  remotest 
degree.  There  are  certain  great  families,  such  as  the  Ballaroke, 
Tdondarup,  Ngotak,  Nagarnook,  Nogonyuk,  Mongalmy,  and 

*  Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  392.  X  1-  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  387. 

t  1.  c.  pp.  2.  215.     See  also  320.  §  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  249. 

31 


450  THE   TASMANIANS. 

Narrangur^  wliich  occur  over  a  great  portion  of  the  Conti- 
nent^ and  within  whicli  marriage  is  not  permitted  *.  There 
are  many  other  cases  of  prohibitions;  ^^ indeed."  says  Mr. 
Lang  -f,  "  instead  of  enjoying  perfect  personal  freedom,  as  it 
would  at  first  appear,  they  are  governed  by  a  code  of  rules 
and  a  set  of  customs  which  form  one  of  the  most  cruel  tyran- 
nies that  has  ever,  perhaps,  existed  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
subjecting  not  only  the  will,  but  the  property  and  life  of  the 
weak  to  the  dominion  of  the  strong.  The  whole  tendency  of 
the  system  is  to  give  every  thing  to  the  strong  and  old,  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  weak  and  young,  and  more  particularly 
to  the  detriment  of  the  women.  They  have  rules  by  which 
the  best  food,  the  best  pieces,  the  best  animals,  etc.,  are  pro- 
hibited to  the  women  and  young  men,  and  reserved  for  the 
old.  The  women  are  generally  appropriated  to  the  old  and 
powerful,  some  of  whom  possess  from  four  to  seven  wives ; 
while  wives  are  altogether  denied  to  young  men,  unless 
they  have  sisters  to  give  in  exchange,  and  are  strong  and 
courageous  enough  to  prevent  their  sisters  from  being 
taken  without  exchange." 

The  Tasmanians. 

The  inhabitants  of  Van  Dieman's  Land  belonged  to  quite 
a  different  race,  but  were  just  as  wretched  as  those  of 
Australia.  According  to  Captain  Cook^s  account  they  had 
no  houses,  no  clothes,  no  canoes,  no  instrument  to  catch 
large  fish,  no  nets,  no  hooks ;  they  lived  on  mussels,  cockles, 
and  pei'iwinkles,  and  their  only  weapon  was  a  straight  pole, 
sharpened  at  one  end  J.  Mr.  Dove  informs  us  that  they  are 
entirely  without  any  ^^  moral  views  and  impressions."  Li- 
deed,  he  scarcely  appears  to  regard  them  as  rational  beings  §. 

*  Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  329.  J  Third  Voyage,  vol.  i.  p.  100. 

t  The    Aborigines   of    Australia.  §  Tasmanian   Jour,   of  Nat.   Sci. 

G.  S.  Lang,  p.  7.  vol.  i.  p.  249. 


FEEGEE    ISLANDERS. 


451 


Like  the  Australians,  tliey  have  no  means  of  expressing 
abstract  ideas;  they  have  not  even  a  word  for  a  "tree." 
Although  fire  was  well  known  to  them,  some  tribes,  at  least, 
appear  to  have  been  ignorant  whence  it  was  originally  ob- 
tained, or  how,  if  extinguished,  it  could  be  re-lighted.  "  In 
all  their  wanderings,"  says  Mr.  Dove,  "  they  were  particu- 
larly careful  to  bear  in  their  hands  the  materials  for  kindling 
a  fire.  Their  memory  supplies  them  with  no  instances  of 
a  period  in  which  they  were  obliged  to  draw  on  their  in- 
ventive powers  for  the  means  of  resuscitating  an  element  so 
essential  to  their  health  and  comfort  as  flame.  How  it  came 
originally  into  their  possession  is  unknown.  Whether  it 
may  be  viewed  as  a  gift  of  nature,  or  the  product  of  art 

Fig.  209. 


Tasmanian  Firesticks. 

and  sagacity,  they  cannot  recollect  a  period  when  it  was 
a  desideratum.  ...  It  was  the  part  of  the  females 
especially  to  carry  a  firebrand  in  their  hands,  which  was 
studiously  refreshed  from  time  to  time  as  it  became  dull 
and  evanescent*."  Fig.  209  represents  a  pair  of  Tasmanian 
firesticks,  presented  to  me  by  Mr.  Robinson. 


Feegee  Islanders. 

The  islands  of  the  Pacific  contain  two  very  distinct  races 
of  men — the  Negrito  and  the  Polynesian.  My  space  does 
not  permit  me  to  enter  mto  the  interesting  question  of  their 
relationships  and  affinities. 

*  Tasmanian  Journal  of  Nat.  Sci.  vol.  i.  p.  250. 


452  FOOD.      WEAPONS. 

The  Feegeeans  belong  to  tlie  former  category,  and  in 
many  respects  resemble  negroes.  They  are  darker  than  the 
Polynesians.  The  jaws  are  larger,  and  the  hair,  though  not 
exactly  woolly,  is  frizzled.  They  are  a  powerful  race,  but 
not  so  graceful  as  the  Polynesians.  Their  language  is, 
however,  more  Polynesian  than  Negrito.  Their  institutions, 
customs,  and  manners,  were  partly  Polynesian,  partly  Ne- 
grito*. It  is  remarkable  that  they  did  not  use  the  con- 
sonants "  b,"  "  d,"  or  ''  g,"  without  placing  "  m  "  or  "  n  " 
before  them,  as  for  instance  Mbau,  Nduandua,  Ngata.  It  is 
well  known  how  frequent  these  sounds  are  in  Negro  names. 

The  food  of  the  Peegee  Islanders  consisted  of  fish,  turtle, 
shell-fish,  crabs,  human  flesh  whenever  it  could  be  obtained, 
taro,  yams,  mandrai,  bananas,  and  cocoa-nuts,  in  addition  to 
which  the  higher  classes  occasionally  indulged  in  pigs  and 
fowls.  They  drank  ava  habitually,  and  at  all  their  cere- 
monies. 

Their  weapons  consisted  of  spears,  slings,  clubs,  bows  and 
arrows.  The  spears  were  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  long,  and 
were  generally  made  of  cocoa-nut  wood  ;  the  end  was  pointed 
and  charred ;  sometimes,  though  not  often,  a  sharp  bone  was 
used  for  the  point.  They  had  several  kinds  of  clubs,  all 
made  of  iron  wood.  That  most  esteemed  was  about  three 
feet  long  with  a  heavy  knob  at  the  end.  Another  kind 
was  somewhat  shovel-shaped,  and  might  rather  be  called 
a  short  sword.  The  ida  was  a  short  heavy  club,  about 
eighteen  inches  long,  with  a  large  and  heavy  knob.  It  was 
used  as  a  missile,  and  the  natives  threw  it  with  great  ac- 
curacy and  force.  These  were  their  principal  weapons,  the 
bows  and  arrows  being  weak  and  light.  They  were,  how- 
ever, used  in  war,  as  well  as  in  killing  fish.     The  fortified 

ft 

towns  of  the  Feegeeans  had  an  earthen  "  rampart,  about  six 

feet  thick,  faced  with  large  stones,  surmounted  by  a  reed 

*  Lattam.    Varieties  of  Man,  p.  226. 


HOUSES.      TEMPLES.       RELIGION.  4oo 

fence  of  cocoa-nut  trunks,  and  surrounded  by  a  muddy 
moat*." 

Their  houses  were  oblong,  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  long, 
and  fifteen  feet  high.  They  were  made  of  cocoa-nut  wood 
and  tree  fern,  and  were  sometimes  very  well  built.  They 
had  two  doorways  on  opposite  sides,  from  thi'ce  to  four  feet 
high  and  four  feet  wide.  The  sides  were  made  of  posts 
about  three  feet  apart,  and  filled  in  with  wickerwork.  The 
roof  had  a  steep  pitch ;  the  rafters  were  generally  of  palm 
wood,  thatched  with  wild  sugar  cane,  under  which  they 
placed  fern  leaves.  A  mat  served  as  a  door,  and  a  few  flat 
stones  near  the  middle  of  the  house  served  as  the  fireplace. 
The  houses  were  seldom  divided  by  partitions,  but  the  two 
ends  were  raised  about  a  foot,  and  were  covered  with  layers 
of  mats  on  which  the  natives  slept. 

Their  temples  were  pyramidal  in  form  and  were  often 
erected  on  terraced  mounds,  like  those  of  Central  America f. 
They  also  venerated  certain  upright  stones  J,  resembling 
those  which  we  call  Druidical.  "  The  Feegeeans,"  says 
Mr.  Hazlewood,  '^  consider  the  gods  as  beings  of  like  passions 
with  themselves.  They  love  and  hate;  they  are  proud  and 
revengeful,  and  make  war,  and  kill  and  eat  each  other ; 
and  are,  in  fact,  savages  and  canibals  like  themselves." 
^'Cruelty,"  says  Captain  Erskine§,  "a  craving  for  blood, 
and  especially  for  human  flesh  as  food,  are  characteristic  of 
the  gods."  Yet  the  Feegeeans  looked  upon  the  Samoans 
with  horror,  regarding  them  as  having  no  religion,  because 
they  had  no  belief  in  any  such  deities,  nor  any  of  the  san- 
guinary rites  which  prevailed  in  other  islands. 

The  Feegee  canoes   were   very  well   constructed.     They 


*  Williams,  Figi  and  the  Figiane,  %  Figi   and    the    Figians,   vol.   i. 

vol.  i.  p.  48.  p.  220. 

t  B.   Sccmann,   in    tho  Vacation  §  Journal    of    a    Cruise    in    the 

Tourist  for  1861,  p.  2G9.  Western  Pacific,  p.  247. 


454  CANOES.       POTTERY.       GAMES. 

were  generally  double,  of  unequal  size,  the  smaller  one 
serving  as  an  outrigger.  The  larger  ones  were  sometimes 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  length.  The  two  canoes  were 
connected  by  a  platform,  generally  about  fifteen  feet  wide 
and  projecting  two  or  three  feet  beyond  the  sides.  The 
bottom  of  each  consisted  of  a  single  plank ;  the  sides  were 
fitted  by  dovetailing,  and  closely  united  by  lashings  passed 
through  flanges  left  on  each  of  the  pieces.  The  joints  were 
closed  by  the  gum  of  the  bread-fruit  tree.  The  sails  were 
large  and  made  of  mats.  The  mast  was  generally  about 
half  the  length  of  the  canoe,  and  the  yard  and'boom  usually 
twice  as  long  as  the  mast.  Their  principal  tool  was  an  adze, 
formerly  of  stone,  but  now  generally  of  iron.  For  boring 
holes  they  used  the  long  spines  of  the  echina,  pointed  bones, 
and,  when  they  could  get  them,  nails.  Small  teeth,  such 
as  those  of  rats  and  mice,  were  used  for  carving ;  and  their 
knives  were  made  of  the  outside  of  a  piece  of  bamboo,  shaped 
into  form  while  green.  After  being  dried  it  was  chain-ed, 
and  thus  became  very  hard  and  sharp,  so  that  it  might  even 
be  used  in  surgical  operations.  They  differed  from  the  Poly- 
nesians in  using  earthenware  pots  for  cooking.  These  were 
graceful  and  well  made,  though  the  potter's  wheel  was  un- 
known. The  pottery  was  all  made  by  women.  Their  tools 
were  very  simple,  consisting  of  a  small  round  flat  stone 
to  fashion  the  inside,  and  a  flat  mallet  or  spatula  for  the 
surface,  which  they  made  almost  as  round  as  if  it  had  been 
turned  in  a  lathe.  Forks  appear  to  have  been  long  in  use 
among  the  Feegeeans ;  a  remarkable  fact,  if  we  remember 
that  they  were  unknown  in  Northern  Europe  until  the  seven- 
teenth century. 

The  Feegeeans  have  several  kinds  of  games.  They  are 
fond  of  swinging,  and  of  throwing  stones  or  fruits  at  a  mark. 
They  have  also  a  game  resembling  skittles.  Their  dances, 
like   those   of  so   many  other   nations,  are  any  thing  but 


AGRICULTURE.       WOMEN.  455 

decorous.  Their  musical  instruments  are  the  conch-shell, 
the  nose-flute,  pipes,  a  Jew's-harp  made  of  a  strip  of  bamboo, 
and  several  sorts  of  drums.     They  are  also  fond  of  poetry. 

Their  agricultural  implements  have  been  described  by 
Mr.  Williams.  The  digging-sticks  are  made  of  a  young 
mangrove-tree.  They  are  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  hay- 
fork, and  the  lower  end  "  is  tapered  off  on  one  side,  after  the 
shape  of  a  quill  toothpick.  In  digging,  this  flattened  side  is 
kept  downwards.  When  preparing  a  piece  of  ground  for 
yams,  a  number  of  men  are  employed,  divided  into  groups  of 
three  or  four.  Each  man  being  furnished  with  a  digging- 
stick,  they  drive  them  into  the  ground  so  as  to  enclose  a 
circle  of  about  two  feet  in  diameter.  When,  by  repeated 
strokes,  the  sticks  reach  the  depth  of  eighteen  inches,  they 
are  used  as  levers,  and  the  mass  of  soil  between  them  is  thus 
loosened  and  raised*."  The  clods  are  then  broken  up  by 
boys  with  short  sticks.  Weeding  "  is  accomplished  by  means 
of  a  tool  used  like  a  Dutch  hoe,  the  workmen  squatting  so  as 
to  bring  the  handle  nearly  level  with  the  ground.  The  blade 
used  formerly  to  be  made  of  a  bone  from  the  back  of  a  turtle, 
or  a  plata  of  tortoise-shell,  or  the  valve  of  a  large  oyster,  or 
large  kind  of  pinna.  In  the  Windward  Islands  they  use  a 
large  dibble,  eight  feet  long,  about  eighteen  inches  in  cir- 
cumference, and  tapering  to  a  point.  They  had  also  pruning 
knives  of"  tortoise-shell  lashed  to  the  end  of  a  rod  ten  feet 
long.  They  are  skilful  in  basket-making,  and  have  good 
strong  nets  made  of  creepers  or  of  sinnet. 

The  women  are  kept  in  great  subjection.  "The  men 
frequently  tie  them  up  and  flog  them.  Like  other  property, 
wives  might  be  sold  at  pleasure,  and  the  usual  price  is  a 
musket.  Those  who  purchase  them  may  do  with  them  as 
they  please,  even  to  knocking  them  on  the  head."  Erskine, 
however,  gives  a  more  satisfactory  account  of  the  position 
*  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  63. 


456  DRESS.       TATTOOING. 

held  by  the  women;  and  it  appears  that  they  are  on  the 
whole  more  chaste  than  is  the  case  in  some  of  the  other 
Pacific  Islands^  whjch  is  saying  something  for  them^  but 
certainly  not  much.  Although  so  lax  in  some  things,  they 
were  very  strict  in  others,  and  it  was  thought  improper  in 
some  of  these  islands  for  husband  and  wife  to  spend  the  night 
under  the  same  roof. 

Although  but  scantily  clothed,  the  Feegeeans  were  very 
particular  about  their  garments  and  their  paint.  They 
were  specially  proud  of  their  hair,  and  if  it  was  short 
they  wore  a  wig  as  a  substitute.  Some  of  these  wigs 
were  most  elaborate.  The  men  wore  ''  tapa,"  which  is  a 
kind  of  cloth  obtained  from  the  inner  bark  of  the  paper- 
mulberry,  and  made  into  a  sash,  from  three  to  one  hundred 
yards  in  length.  Six  or  ten  yards  is,  however,  the  usual 
quantity,  and  it  is  passed  between  the  legs  and  round  the 
waist*.  The  women  are  not  permitted  to  use  '^  tapa,"  and 
their  dress  is  more  scanty  than  that  of  the  men,  consisting, 
indeed,  only  of  the  "  liku,"  a  kind  of  band,  made  of  the  bark 
of  hibiscus,  and  fastened  round  the  waist.  It  ends  in  a 
fringe,  which  is  worn  short  by  the  girls,  but  longer  after 
marriage.  Nevertheless,  though  almost  naked,  the  Feegeeans 
are  said  to  have  been  very  modest,  and  if  any  one  were  found 
entirely  without  clothes.  Captain  Wilkes  thinks  that  the 
offender  would  be  immediately  put  to  death. 

Tattooing  is  confined  to  the  women,  who  are  ornamented 
in  this  manner  on  the  fingers,  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  and, 
oddly  enough,  on  those  parts  of  the  body  which  are  covered 
by  the  "  liku.'^  The  process  is  very  painful,  but  submission 
to  it  is  regarded  as  a  religious  dutyfj,  any  neglect  of  which 
will  assuredly  be  punished  after  death  J. 

The  graves  of  the  common  people  are  only  marked  by  a 

*  Pigi    and    the   Figians,   vol.  i.  f  Ibid.  p.  160;  Wilkes,  1.  c.  p.  355. 

p.  156.  X  ^  Mission  to  Viti,  p.  112. 


BURIAL.  457 

few  stones,  but  over  those  of  chiefs  they  build  small  houses, 
from  two  to  six  feet  high,  or  in  some  cases  erect  large  cairns 
of  stone;  these  also  are  sometimes  "  set  up  to  mark  the  spot 
where  a  man  has  died*."  The  body  is  buried  in  a  sitting 
posture.  The  usual  sign  of  mourning  is  to  crop  the  hair  or 
beard,  or  both.  Very  often,  also,  they  burn  the  skin  into 
blisters,  and  cut  off  the  end-joints  of  the  small  toe  and  little 
finger. 

Among  the  Feege^ans,  parricide  is  not  a  crime,  but  a  cus- 
tom. Parents  are  generally  killed  by  their  children.  Some- 
times the  aged  people  make  up  their  minds  that  it  is  time 
to  die ;  sometimes  it  is  the  children  who  give  notice  to  their 
parents  that  they  are  a  burden  to  them.  In  either  case,  the 
friends  and  relatives  are  summoned,  a  consultation  takes 
place,  and  a  day  is  fixed  for  the  ceremony,  which  commences 
with  a  great  feast.  The  missionaries  have  often  witnessed 
these  horrible  tragedies.  On  one  occasion,  a  young  man 
invited  Mr.  Hunt  to  attend  his  mother's  funeral,  which  was 
just  going  to  take  place.  Mr.  Hunt  accepted  the  invitation, 
but  when  the  funeral  procession  started,  he  was  surprised 
to  see  no  corpse,  and  accordingly  made  inquiries,  when  the 
young  savage  "pointed  out  his  motherf,  who  was  walking 
along  with  them,  as  gay  and  lively  as  any  of  them  present, 
and  apparently  as  much  pleased.  .  .  .  He  added  that  it 
was  from  love  for  his  mother  that  he  had  done  so ;  that  in 
consequence  of  the  same  love,  they  were  now  going  to  bury 
her,  and  that  none  but  themselves  could  or  ought  to  do  so 

sacred  an  office She  was  their  mother,  and  they 

were  her  children,  and  they  ought  to  put  her  to  death."  In 
such  cases  the  grave  is  dug  about  four  feet  deep,  the  relatives 
and  friends  begin  their  lamentations,  take  an  affectionate 
parting,  and  bury  the  poor  victim  alive.  It  is  surprising 
after  this  to  hear  that  Mr.  Hunt  regarded  the  Fcegocans 
*  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  102.  f  Wilkes,  1.  c.  p.  95. 


458 


CUSTOMS.       PARRICIDE. 


as  being  kind  and  affectionate  to  tlieir  parents ;  but  in  fact 
"  they  consider  this  custom  so  great  a  proof  of  affection, 
that  none  but  children  could  be  found  to  perform  it."  The 
fact  is  that  they  not  only  believe  in  a  future  state,  but  are 
persuaded  that  as  they  leave  this  life  so  they  will  rise  again*. 
They  have,  therefore,  a  powerful  motive  for  quitting  this 
world  before  they  are  weakened  by  old  age ;  and  so  general 
was  this  belief,  so  powerful  the  influence  which  it  had  upon 
them,  that  in  one  town,  containing  several  hundred  inha- 
tants,  Capt.  Wilkes  did  not  see  one  man  over  forty  years 
of  age ;  and,  on  asking  for  the  old  people,  he  was  informed 
that  they  were  all  buried.  Again,  during  the  first  year  of 
Mr.  Hunt's  residence  at  Somo-somo,  there  was  only  one 
instance  of  natural  death ;  all  the  aged  and  diseased  having 
been  strangled  or  buried  alive. 

When  a  chief  died  it  was  usual  to  "send  with  him''  some 
of  his  women  and  some  slaves.  At  the  death  of  Ngavindi, 
Mr.  Calvert  went  to  Mbau,  hoping  "  to  prevent  the  strangling 
of  women,  but  was  too  late.  Three  had  been  murdered. 
Thakombau  proposed  to  strangle  his  sister,  the  chief  wife 
of  the  deceased,  as  was  the  usual  custom;  but  the  Lasakau 
people  begged  that  she  might  be  spared,  and  that  her  child 
might  become  their  chief.  Ngavindi's  mother  offered  herself 
as  a  substitute,  and  was  strangled.  The  dead  chief  lay  in 
state,  with  a  dead  wife  by  his  side,  on  a  raised  platform ;  the 
corpse  of  his  mother  on  a  bier  at  his  feet,  and  a  murdered 
servant  on  a  mat  in  the  midst  of  the  house.  A  large  grave 
was  dug  in  the  foundation  of  a  house  near  by,  in  which  the 
servant  was  laid  first,  and  upon  her  the  other  three  corpses, 
wrapped  and  wound  up  together -{-."  In  these  cases  the 
wives  generally  die  voluntarily,  believing  that  thus  only  can 
they  hope  to  go  to  heaven.     Horrible  as  are  these  facts,  they 


*  Figi    and    the   Figians,   vol. 
p.  183. 


t  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  301, 


HORRIBLE    RITES.  459 

at  least  show  how  strong  must  be  the  belief  felt  iu  a  future 
state  of  tixistencc. 

Still,  though  we  may  allow  the  goodness  of  the  motive  to 
extenuate  some  of  these  atrocities,  it  must  be  allowed  that 
human  life  was  but  little  regarded  in  Fcegee.  Not  only 
infanticide,  but  also  human  sacrifices,  were  very  common, 
and,  iu  fact,  scarcely  any  thing  was  undertaken  without  the 
latter.  When  the  king  launched  a  canoe,  ten  or  more  men 
were  slaughtered  on  the  deck,  in  order  that  it  might  be 
washed  with  human  blood.  But  there  is  even  worse  to  be 
told.  The  Feegeeans  were  most  inveterate  cannibals,  and 
so  fond  were  they  of  human  flesh,  that  "  the  greatest  praise 
they  can  bestow  on  any  delicacy  is  to  say  that  it  is  as  tender 
as  a  dead  man."  Nay,  they  were  even  so  fastidious  as  to 
dislike  the  taste  of  white  men  *,  to  prefer  the  flesh  of  women 
to  that  of  men,  and  to  consider  the  arm  above  the  elbow, 
and  the  thigh  as  the  best  joints ;  and  so  greedy,  that  human 
flesh  was  reserved  for  the  men,  being  considered  too  good  to 
be  wasted  upon  the  women.  When  the  king  gave  a  feast 
human  flesh  always  formed  one  of  the  dishes,  and  though 
the  bodies  of  enemies  slain  in  battle  were  always  eaten,  they 
did  not  afibrd  a  sufficient  supply,  but  slaves  were  fattened 
up  for  the  market.  Sometimes  they  roasted  them  alive  and 
ate  them  at  once,  while  at  others  they  kept  bodies  until  they 
were  far  gone  in  decay.  Ra  Undre-undre,  Chief  of  Rakiraki, 
was  said  to  have  eaten  nine  hundred  persons  himself,  permit- 
ting no  one  to  share  them  with  himf. 

It  was  not  from  any  want  of  food  that  the  Feegeeans  were 
cannibals.  On  one  occasion  they  offered  to  the  God  of  War 
"ten  thousand  yams  (weighing  from  six  to  twelve  pounds 
each),  thirty  turtles,  forty  roots  of  yaquona  (some  very  lai'ge), 
many  hundreds  of  native  puddings  (two  tons),  one  hundred 

*  So  also  did  the  Australians,  tho  Tongans,  and  the  New  Zealanders. 
f  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  213. 


460 


CANNIBALISM. 


and  fifty  giant  oysters,,  fifteen  water-melons^  cocoa-nuts,  a 
large  number  of  violet  land-crabs,  taro,  and  ripe  bananas*." 
At  a  public  feast  Mr.  Williams  once  saw  "  two  liundred  men 
employed  for  nearly  six  hours  in  collecting  and  piling  cooked 
food.  There  were  six  mounds  of  yams,  taro,  vakalolo,  pigs, 
and  turtles  :  these  contained  about  fifty  tons  of  cooked  yams 
and  taro,  fifteen  tons  of  sweet  pudding,  seventy  turtles,  five 
cartloads  of  yaquona,  and  about  two  hundred  tons  of  un- 
cooked yams.  One  pudding,  at  a  Lakemba  feast,  measm-ed 
twenty-one  feet  in  circumference."  Yet  so  habitual  has 
cannibalism  become,  that  they  have  no  word  for  a  corpse 
which  does  not  include  the  idea  of  something  edible. 
Human  flesh  is  known  as  "  puaka  balava,"  or  "  long 
pigt-^'  "  On  contemplating  the  character  of  this  extraor- 
dinary people,"  says  ErskineJ,  "the  mind  is  struck  with 
wonder  and  awe  at  the  mixture  of  a  complicated  and 
carefully- conducted  political  system,  highly  finished  man- 
ners, and  ceremonious  politeness,  with  a  ferocity  and  prac- 
tice of  savage  vices  which  is  probably  unparalleled  in  any 
other  part  of  the  world."  "  Murder,"  says  Mr.  Williams, 
"  is  not  an  occasional  thing  in  Figi,  but  habitual,  systematic, 
and  classed  among  ordinary  transactions  §."  Elsewhere  he 
tells  us  that  no  Feegeean  ever  feels  safe  with  a  stranger 
at  his  heels II,  and  that  to  be  "an  acknowledged  murderer 
is  the  object  of  the  Figian^s  restless  ambition^."  On  the 
island  of  Vanua  Levu,  even  among  the  women,  there  were 
"few  who  had  not  in  some  way  been  murderers**."  To 
this  they  are  trained  up  from  infancy.     "  One  of  the  first 


*  Figi  aud  the  Tigians,  vol.  i.  p.  44. 

t  Erskine,  1.  c.  p.  260.  Other 
niainmalia,  when  introduced  into  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  received  names 
indicative  of  their  similarity  to  this 
their  principal  quadruped :  thus  the 
horse  was  called  the  "man-carrying 
pig"  in  Tahiti,  the  sheep  was  the 


"hog  with  teeth  on  its  forehead" 
(Forster,  1.  c.  p.  384). 

X  Erskine,  1.  c.  p.  272. 

§  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i. 
p.  134. 

II  1.  c.  p.  133. 

TT  1.  c.  p.  112. 

**  1.  c.  p.  180. 


CHARACTER    OP   THE    FEEQEEANS.  4G1 

lessons  taught  the  infant  is  to  strike  its  mother."  At  Somo- 
sorao,  Mr.  Williams  saw  mothers  leading  their  children  "to 
kick  and  tread  upon  the  dead  bodies  of  enemies*.  No 
wonder  that  under  these  circumstances  "  a  happy  and  united 
household  is  most  rare."  Indeed  it  is  nearly  impossible,  for 
by  an  arrangement,  which  seems  almost  incredible,  "  brothers 
and  sisters,  first  cousins,  fathers  and  sons-in-law,  mothers 
and  daughters-in-law,  and  brothers  and  sisters-in-law,  are 
severally  forbidden  to  speak  to  each  other,  or  to  eat  from 
the  same  dishf."  Yet  amid  so  much  that  is  horrible, 
there  is  still  something  in  the  Feegeean  which  redeems  his 
character  from  utter  atrocity.  If  he  hates  deeply,  ho  also 
loves  truly  ;  if  his  revenge  never  dies,  his  fidelity  and  loyalty 
are  strong  and  endmnng.  Thakombau  was  a  thorough 
Feegeean.  Almost  to  the  last  he  opposed  the  missionaries. 
He  was  not  only  heathen,  but  anti- Christian.  At  length 
being  converted,  he  called  his  people  together,  and,  says 
Mr.  Calvert,  "  What  a  congregation  he  had  !  —  husbands 
whose  wives  he  had  dishonoured !  widows  whose  husbands 
he  had  slain  !  sisters  whose  relatives  had  been  strangled  by 
his  orders !  relatives  whose  friends  he  had  eaten !  and 
children,  the  descendants  of  those  he  had  murdered,  and 
who  had  vowed  to  avenge  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  their 
fathers  J  ! "  Yet  even  this  man — an  adulterer,  a  parricide, 
and  a  cannibal,  whose  hands  were  stained  with  a  hundred 
murders — had  still  something  noble  and  lovable  about  him ; 
80  much  so  indeed  that,  in  spite  of  liis  crimes,  he  secured  the 
affection,  the  friendship,  even  the  respect,  of  a  man  so 
excellent  as  Mr.  Calvert. 

TJw  Maoi'ies. 
The  New  Zealanders  are  the  southernmost  representatives 

•  1.  0.  p.  177.  X  Figi  and  the  Figians,  1.  c.  vol.  ii. 

t  1.  c.  p.  136.  p.  C57. 


462  THE   MAOEIES. 

of  the  great  Polynesian  family.  Their  principal  food  con- 
sisted of  fern  roots^  which  they  scorched  over  the  fire^  and 
then  beat  with  a  sticky  till  the  bark  and  dry  outside  fell  off ; 
the  remainder  being  a  soft  substance^  rather  clammy  and 
sweet,  not  unpleasant  to  the  taste,  but  mixed  with  numerous 
stringy  fibres  which  are  very  disagreeable*.  In  the 
northern  districts  were  large  plantations  of  yams  and  sweet 
potatoes.  They  also  cultivated  gourds,  which  were  used  for 
vessels,  as  they  had  no  pottery.  Their  only  instrument  for 
tillage  was  "  a  long  narrow  stake  sharpened  to  an  edge  at 
one  end,  with  a  short  piece  fastened  transversely  at  a  little 
distance  above  it,  for  the  convenience  of  pressing  it  down 
with  the  foot."  Their  animal  food  consisted  principally  of 
fish  and  shell-fish,  and  Captain  Cook  observed  large  shell- 
mounds  near  their  houses.  They  sometimes,  also,  though 
rarely,  killed  rails,  penguins,  shags,  and  other  birds.  They 
obtain  fire  from  two  pieces  of  wood,  in  the  usual  mannerf. 
A  New  Zealand  stone  adze  is  represented  in  figs.  111-113, 
p.  99. 

The  only  quadrupeds  in  the  islands  were  dogs  and  rats. 
They  had  no  hogs,  and  the  dogs  were  kept  entirely  for  food. 
They  were  skilful  in  fishing,  having  excellent  lines,  hooks 
made  of  bone  and  shell,  and  very  large  nets,  which  were 
made  of  the  leaves  of  a  kind  of  flax,  split  into  strips  of  the 
proper  breadth  and  tied  together.  In  making  the  lines  the 
leaves  are  "  scraped  by  a  shell,  which  removes  the  upper 
or  green  part,  and  leaves  the  strong  white  fibres,  that  run 
longitudinally  along  the  under  side  J."  This  kind  of  cordage 
has  even  been  preferred  to  that  made  of  European  hemp. 

Of  these  leaves  also  they  made  most  of  their  clothes,  for 
though   acquainted    with  the  manufacture  of  bark- cloth,  it 

*  Dieffenbach's  New  Zealand,  vol.  J  Fitzroy's  Voyage  of  the  "Adven- 

ii.  p.  11.  ture"  and  "Beagle,"  voL  ii.  p.  599. 

t  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  479. 

4 


ORNAMENTS.       TATTOOING.       HOUSES.  463 

was  very  scarce,  and  worn  only  as  an  ornament.  The  leaves 
were  split  into  three  or  four  slips,  which  were  interwoven 
into  a  kind  of  stuff,  something  between  netting  and  cloth. 
Dog's  wool  was  also  used  for  the  same  purpose*.  The  dress 
was  alike  in  both  sexes,  and  consisted  of  two  parts ; .  one 
piece  of  their  rude  cloth  (if  so  it  may  be  called)  was  tied 
over  the  shoulders  and  reached  to  the  knees,  being  fastened 
in  front  by  a  piece  of  string  or  a  bone  bodkin  ;  the  other 
piece  was  wrapped  round  the  waist,  and  reached  nearly  to 
the  ground.  Tliis  garment,  however,  was  worn  by  the  men 
only  on  particular  occasions. 

For  ornament  they  wore  combs  of  wood  or  bone,  feathers, 
necklaces,  bracelets,  and  anklets  of  bones  and  shells,  and 
ear-rings  of  jade  or  albatross-down.  Many  of  them  had  also 
small  grotesque  figures  of  jade,  which  were  suspended  from 
the  neck  and  were  regarded  as  very  precious.  The  New 
Zealanders  were  also  tattooed  with  great  dexterity  and  ele- 
gance ;  not  only  on  the  body,  but  even  on  the  face,  the  gene- 
ral efiect  of  which  was  in  many  cases  far  from  unpleasant. 
The  process,  however,  was  extremely  painful,  so  much  so,  in- 
deed, that  it  could  not  be  supported  all  at  once,  but  was  some- 
times spread  over  several  months,  or  even  years.  The  lips  and 
the  corners  of  the  eyes  were  the  part  that  hurt  most.  To  have 
shrunk  from  it  would,  however,  have  been  a  great  disgrace. 

Their  houses  were  about  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  long, 
eight  or  ten  broad,  and  five  or  six  high.  The  sides  sloped 
quite  down  to  the  ground,  differing  in  this  respect  from  those 
of  Tahiti,  which  are  left  open  at  the  sides.  This  was  done, 
however,  not  for  the  sake  of  privacy,  but  to  keep  out  the 
wind  and  rain.  The  sides  were  made  of  sticks,  closely 
thatched  with  grass  and  hay,  and  the  door  was  at  one  end, 
just  high  enough  to  admit  a  man  on  all  fours.  Another  hole 
served  both  for  window  and  chimney.     The  roof  was  often 

*  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  500. 


464 


POKTiriCATIONS.       WEAPONS. 


carved,  and  they  frequently  attached  to  the  end  of  the  ridge 
pole  a  monstrous  representation  of  the  proprietor*. 

Their  villages  were  all  fortified.  They  chose  the  strongest 
natural  situations,  and  surrounded  the  houses  with  a  palisade 
abopt  ten  feet  high.  The  weaker  sides  were  also  defended 
"  by  a  double  ditch,  the  innermost  of  which  has  a  bank,  and 
an  additional  palisade.^'  The  stakes  were  driven  obliquely 
into  the  ground,  so  that  they  projected  over  the  ditch, 
which  "  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  or  crown  of  the  bank 
is  four-and-twenty  feet.  Close  within  the  innermost  pali- 
sade is  a  stage,  twenty  feet  high,  forty  feet  long,  and  six 
broad ;  it  is  supported  by  strong  posts,  and  is  intended  as 
a  station  for  those  who  defend  the  place,  from  which  they 
may  annoy  the  assailants  by  darts  and  stones,  heaps  of 
which  lay  ready  for  use.     Another  stage  of  fig.  210. 

the  same  kind  commands  the  steep  avenue 
from  the  back,  and  stands  also  within  the 
palisadef."  Within  the  palisades  they  had 
reduced  the  ground  "'not  to  one  level,  but 
to  several,  rising  in  stages  one  above  the 
other,  like  an  amphitheatre,  each  of  which  is 
enclosed  within  its  separate  palisade."  These 
diiferent  platforms  communicated  only  by 
narrow  passages,  so  that  each  one  was 
capable  of  separate  defence ;  and  they  were 
provided  with  large  stores  of  dried  fish, 
fern-roots,  etc.  As  the  natives,  when  first 
discovered,  had  no  bows  and  arrows,  nor 
even  slings,  in  fact  no  ^'^  missile  weapon 
except  the  lance,  which  was  thrown  by 
hand,"  such  positions  as  these  must  have 
been  almost  impregnable.  Their  principal  weapon  was  the 
patoo  patoo  (fig.  210)  which  was  fastened  to  the  wrist  by  a 

*  Dieflfenbach,  1.  c.  p.  69.  f  Cook's  First  Voyage,  p.  343. 


Patoo  Patoo. 


CANOES.       BURIAL.       MUSIC.  465 

strong  strap,  lest  it  should  be  wrenched  from  them.  They 
had  no  defensive  armour,  but  besides  their  weapons  the 
chiefs  carried  a  "  staflf  of  distinction.'' 

Their  canoes  were  well  built,  and  resemble  those  of  the 
other  islands.  Many  of  them,  however,  were  broad  enough 
to  sail  without  an  outrigger.  The  two  ends  were  often  in- 
geniously carved*. 

The  dead  were  wrapped  in  native  cloth,  and  either  buried 
in  a  contracted  posture,  or  exposed  for  a  while  on  small 
square  platforms ;  when  the  flesh  had  decayed  away,  the 
bones  were  washed,  and  finally  deposited  in  a  small  covered 
box,  which  was  generally  elevated  on  a  column  in  or  near 
the  village t-  In  some  districts,  however,  they  were  usually 
thrown  into  the  sea,  except  indeed  those  that  were  killed  in 
battle.  These  were  generally  eaten  by  their  enemies.  None 
of  the  objects  used  by  the  dead  during  his  last  illness  were 
over  employed  again  J ;  they  were  generally  broken  or  buried 
with  the  deceased.  In  one  case  a  moa's  egg  has  been  found 
in  the  hands  of  a  dead  Maori,  who  was  buried  in  the  usual 
sitting  posture.  The  egg  was  perfect  §,  and  may  have  been 
intended  to  serve  as  food  for  the  dead. 

In  the  Taranaki  district,  according  to  Taylor,  the  natives 
were  buried  in  their  houses,  the  door  was  tied  up  and  painted 
with  ochre  to  show  that  it  was  "  taboo.''  In  most  of  the 
Pahs  or  fortified  villages  half  the  houses  belonged  to  the 
dead,  and  these  being  never  repaired  gave  the  village  a 
very  neglected  appearance  ||. 

Their  principal  musical  instrument  was  the  flute,  of  which 
they  had.  three  or  four  varieties.  D'Urville^  also  observed 
among  them  a  kind  of  lyre,  with  three  or  four  strings.    They 

*  Forstcr's     Observationa,    1.     c.  §  Zoologist,    February,    1865,   p. 

p.  326.  9454. 

t  Dieffenbach,  I.e.  p.  63;  Fitzroy,  ||  New  Zealand  and  its  Inhabitanta. 

1.  c.  p.  579.  Taylor,     p.  101. 

X  D'Urville,  toI.  ii.  p.  536.  *f  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  501. 
32 


466  CHAEACTER.       RELIGION. 

used  large  shells^  too,  as  a  kind  of  trumpet.  They  were  very 
fond  of  singing,  of  poetry,  and  of  dances.  The  latter  were 
of  two  kinds,  warlike  and  amorous. 

In  character  the  New  Zealanders  were  proud,  jealous, 
irritable,  cruel,  and  implacable;  but  at  the  same  time  sen- 
sible, generous,  sincere,  hospitable,  and  affectionate.  Like 
other  Polynesians  the  Maories  were  much  given  to  infanti- 
cide*. The  girls  before  marriage  were  allowed  great 
freedom.  When  once  married,  however,  the  women  were 
faithful  and  affectionate  to  their  husbands,  by  whom,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  were  generally  treated  with  both  kindness 
and  respect.  On  the  whole,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
position  of  the  women  among  the  New  Zealanders  was  far 
from  unsatisfactory.  The  Maories  were  perpetually  at  war 
during  life,  and  hoped  to  continue  so  after  death.  Heaven 
they  regarded  as  a  place  where  there  would  be  continual 
feasts  of  fish  and  sweet  potatoes ;  where  they  would  be 
always  fighting,  and  always  victorious.  Whether  they  can 
be  said  to  have  had  a  religion,  or  not,  depends  upon  the 
meaning  we  attach  to  the  word.  They  believe  in  the  sur- 
vival of  the  soul,  but  not  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  an 
article  of  faith  which,  as  Mr.  Marsden  tells  us,  the  mission- 
aries could  not  induce  them  to  accept.  They  had  no  idea  of  an 
Almighty  Deity.  Speaking  to  Mr.  Taylor,  Te  Heuheu,  chief 
of  Taupo,  ridiculed  the  idea.  "  Is  there,^^  he  asked,  *'  one 
maker  of  all  things  amongst  you  Europeans  ?  Is  not  one 
a  carpenter,  another  a  blacksmith,  another  a  ship-builder, 
and  another  a  house-builder?  So  it  was  in  the  begin- 
ning ;  one  God  made  this,  another  that :  Tane  made  trees, 
Ru  mountains,  Tangaroa  fish,  and  so  forth.  Your  re- 
ligion is  of  to-day,  ours  from  remote  antiquity.  Do  not 
think  then  to  destroy  our  ancient  faith  with  your  freshborn 
religion  f.'^ 

*  Dieffenbach,  1.  c.  p.  16.  t  1-  c.  p.  13. 


RELIGION.       CANNIBALISM.  467 

Their  principal  deity  was  known  as  the  Atoua^  who  was 
a  cruel  cannibal  like  themselves.  When  any  one  was  ill, 
Atoua  was  supposed  to  be  devouring  his  inside,  and  they 
endeavoured  to  frighten  him  away  by  curses  and  threats*. 
This  we  may  regard  as  a  kind  of  negative  worship ;  but 
on  other  occasions  they  certainly  offered  human  and  other 
sacrifices,  in  the  vain  hope  of  appeasing  his  wrath.  They 
did  not  worship  idols,  but  many  of  the  priests  seem  to  have 
really  thought  that  they  had  been  in  actual  communication 
with  the  Atoua;  and  some  of  the  early  missionaries  were 
inclined  to  believe  that  Satan  might  have  been  permitted  to 
practise  a  deception  upon  them  in  order  to  strengthen  his 
power !  However  extraordinary  this  may  appear,  the  same 
was  the  case  in  Tahiti.  "  In  addition,^'  says  Mr.  Ellis,  "  to 
the  firm  belief  which  many  who  were  sorcerers,  or  agents  of 
the  infernal  powers,  and  others  who  were  the  victims  of 
incantation,  still  maintain,  some  of  the  early  missionaries 
are  disposed  to  think  this  was  the  factf-"  Even  Mr.  Ellis 
himself  was  of  the  same  opinion.  With  such  low  ideas  of  the 
Divinity,  it  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that  some  of  the  chiefs 
were  looked  upon  as  gods  even  during  life.  Watches  and 
white  men  also  were  at  first  regarded  as  deities ;  the  latter 
not,  perhaps,  unnaturally,  their  firearms  being  regarded  as 
thunder  and  lightning. 

The  New  Zealanders  had  but  little  regard  for  human  life. 
Earle  relates  that  a  young  chief  named  Atoi,  who  is  described 
as  having  "  a  handsome  open  countenance,"  on  one  occasion 
recognized  a  pretty  girl  of  about  16,  who  had  been  working 
for  Mr.  Earle,  and  claiming  her  as  a  runaway  slave,  took  her 
back  with  him  to  his  village,  v/here  he  killed  and  ate  her. 
The  next  day  he  showed  Mr.  Earle  "  the  post  to  which  she 
had  been  tied,  and  laughed  to  think  how  he  had  cheated  her." 

*  Missionary  Register,  Nov.  1819. 

t  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  226. 


468  CANNIBALISM. 

"  ¥ov"  said  he^  "  I  told  her  I  only  intended  to  give  her  a 
flogging;  but  I  fired,  and  shot  her  through  the  heart." 
"  Yet/'  adds  Mr.  Earle,  "  I  again  afiirm,,  that  he  was  not 
only  a  handsome  young  man,  but  mild  and  genteel  in  his 
demeanour,  and  a  general  favourite  with  us  all*.'' 

Although  the  New  Zealanders  were  addicted  to  cannibalism, 
it  was  with  them  a  very  different  habit  from  that  of  the 
Feegeean.  No  doubt  the  Maori  enjoyed  his  meals  of  human 
flesh;  all  people  appear  to  have  done  so,  who  have  once 
overcome  the  natural  horror  which  must,  one  would  suppose, 
have  been  at  first  experienced.  But  the  cannibalism  of  a 
New  Zealander,  though  often  a  mere  meal,  was  also  some- 
times a  ceremony;  in  these  cases  the  object  was  something 
very  different  from  mere  sensual  gratification;  it  must  be 
regarded  as  a  part  of  his  religion,  as  a  sort  of  unholy  sacra- 
ment. This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that,  after  a  battle,  the 
bodies  which  they  preferred  were  not  those  of  plump  young 
men,  or  tender  damsels,  but  of  the  most  celebrated  chiefs, 
however  old  and  dry  they  might  bef-  In  fact,  they  believed 
that  it  was  not  only  the  material  substa&ce  which  they  thus 
appropriated,  but  also  the  spirit,  the  ability,  and  the  glory  of 
him  whom  they  devoured.  The  greater  the  number  of  corpses 
they  had  eaten,  the  higher  they  thought  would  be  their 
position  in  the  world  to  come.  Under  such  a  creed  there  is  a 
certain  diabolical  nobility  about  the  habit,  which  is,  at  any 
rate,  far  removed  from  the  sensuality  of  ordinary  cannibalism. 
To  be  eaten  was,  on  the  other  hand,  the  greatest  misfortune 
that  could  happen  to  a  New  Zealander ;  since  he  believed  that 
the  soul  was  thus  destroyed  as  well  as  the  body.  The  chief 
who  could  both  kill  and  devour  his  enemy  had  nothing  more 
to  fear  from  him  either  in  this  world  or  the  next ;  on  the  con- 
trary,   the    strength,   ability,   and  prestige   against   which 

*  Residences  in  New  Zealand,  p.  117.  t  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  547. 


TAHITI.  469 

he  had  had  to  contend,  were  not  only  conquered,  but,  by 
this  dreadful  process,  incorporated  with,  and  added  to  his 
own. 

In  other  cases  slaves  were  killed  and  eaten  in  honour  of 
the  gods.  The  New  Zcalanders  declared  that  criminals  alone 
were  thus  treated.  Even  if  this  was  the  case,  the  custom  was 
horrible  enough;  but  religious  persecutions  have  scarcely 
ceased  in  Europe  even  now,  nor  is  it  so  very  long  since  the 
fire  and  the  stake  were  regarded  as  necessary  for  the  pre- 
servation of  Christianity  itself.  E'hongui  evidently  con- 
sidered that  the  whole  analogy  of  nature  was  in  favour  of 
cannibalism.  He  was  surprised  at  the  horror  of  it  felt  by 
D'Urville.  Big  fish,  he  said,  eat  little  fish ;  insects  devour 
insects ;  large  birds  feed  upon  small  ones ;  it  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  whole  analogy  of  nature  that  men  should  eat 
their  enemies*. 

Tahiti. 

Tahiti,  the  Queen  of  Islands,  has  excited  the  wonder  and 
admiration  of  almost  all  those  by  whom  it  has  been  visited. 
In  some  respects  the  Tahitians  were  surpassed  by  other 
South  Sea  Islanders ;  the  Feegeeans,  for  instance,  being,  as 
we  have  seen,  acquainted  with  pottery, — but  on  the  whole 
they  may  be  taken  as  representing  the  highest  stage  in 
civilization  to  which  man  has  in  any  country  raised  himself 
before  the  discovery  or  introduction  of  metallic  implements. 
It  is  not,  indeed,  at  all  probable  that  any  inhabitants  of  the 
great  continents  were  so  far  advanced  in  civihzation  during 
their  Stone  Age.  Doubtless,  the  Society  Islanders  would 
not  have  remained  without  metal,  if  the  country  had  afforded 
them  the  means  of  obtaining  it.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Europe  were  confiined  to  the  use  of 
*  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  518. 


470 


IMPLEMENTS. 


Fig.  211. 


stone  weapons  only  until  they  became  acquainted  witli  tl.j 
superiority  of,  and  acquired  tlie  art  of  working  in,  copper, 
bronze,  or  iron ;  and  it  is  evident  that  a  nation  would  in  all 
probability  discover  the  use  of  metal  before  attaining  the 
highest  pitch  of  civilization  which,  without  such  aid,  it  would 
be  possible  for  it  to  attain. 

The  tools  of  the  Ta- 
hitians  when  first  dis- 
covered were  made  of 
stone,  bone,  shell,  or 
wood.  Of  metal  they 
had  no  idea.  When  they 
first  obtained  nails,  they 
mistook  them  for  the 
young  shoots  of  some 
very  hard  wood,  and, 
hoping  that  life  might 
not  be  quite  extinct, 
planted  a  number  of  them 
carefully  in  their  gar- 
dens*. 

In  a  very  short  time, 
however,  the  earlier 
weapons  were  entirely 
replaced  by  those  of 
iron ;  and  in  his  last  voy- 
age Captain  Cook  tells 
usf  that  "a  stone  hat- 
chet is,  at  present,  as  rare 
a  thing  amongst  them  as 
an  iron  one  was  eight 
years  ago ;  and  a  chisel  of  bone  or  stone  is  not  to  be  seen/' 

*  Ellis,  Polynesian  Eesearches,  p.  298. 

t  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


Stone  Axe  ■with  Wooden  Handle. 


FISH-HOOKS.  471 

The  stone  axes,  or  rather  adzes,  were  of  various  sizes ;  those 
intended  for  cutting  down  trees  weigh  six  or  seven  pounds, 
the  little  ones,  which  were  used  for  carving,  only  a  few 
ounces.  All  of  them  required  continual  sharpening,  and  a 
atone  was  always  kept  in  readiness  for  this  purpose.  The 
natives  were  very  skilful  in  the  use  of  their  adzes ;  neverthe- 
less, to  fell  a  tree  was  a  work  of  several  days.  Some  of  the 
South  Sea  axes  have  beautifully  carved  handles,  as  in  fig. 
212,  representing  a  specimen  in  my  collection.  These  were 
axes  of  state.  The  chisels,  or  gouges,  were  of  bone,  gene- 
rally that  of  a  man's  arm  between  the  wrist  and  elbow. 
Pieces  of  coral  were  used  as  rasps,  and  splinters  of  bamboo 
for  knives.  For  cultivating  the  ground  they  had  instruments 
of  hard  wood,  about  five  feet  long,  narrow,  with  sharp 
edges  and  pointed.  These  they  used  as  spades  or  hoes*. 
They  had  fish-hooks  made  of  mother-of-pearl,  and  every 
fisherman  made  them  for  himself.  They  generally  served 
for  the  double  purpose  of  hook  and  bait.  "The  shellf  ia 
first  cut  into  square  pieces,  by  the  edge  of  another  shell,  and 
wrought  into  a  form  corresponding  with  the  outline  of  tho 
hook  by  pieces  of  coral,  which  are  sufficiently  rough  to  per- 
form the  office  of  a  file;  a  hole  is  then  bored  in  the 
middle,  the  drill  being  no  other  than  the  first  stone  they 
pick  up  that  has  a  sharp  corner ;  this  they  fix  into  the  end 
of  a  piece  of  bamboo,  and  turn  it  between  the  hands  like  a 
chocolate  mill ;  when  the  shell  is  perforated  and  tho  hole  ^ 
sufficiently  wide,  a  small  file  of  coral  is  introduced^  by  tho 
application  of  which  the  hook  is  in  a  short  time  completed, 
few  costing  the  artificer  more  time  than  a  quarter  of  an 
hour.  From  the  bark  of  the  Poerou,  a  species  of  Hibis- 
cus, they  made  ropes  and  lines,  from  the  thickness  of 
an  inch  to  the  size  of  a  small  packthread;  with  these  they 


*  Wilson,   Missionary  Voyage  to  +  Cook's  Voyape  round  tho  World- 

the  South  Pacific,  p.  245.  vol.  i.  p.  483 ;  vol.  ii.  p.  218. 


472 


MODES    OP   FISHING. 
Fig.  212. 


make  nets  for 
fishing."  They 
hadalsoakindof 
seine  net,  made 
"  of  a  coarse 
broad  grass,  the 
blades  of  which 
are  like  flags  : 
these  they  twist 
and  tie  together 
in  a  loose  man- 
ner, till  the  net, 
which  is  about 
as  wide  as  a 
large  sack,  is 
from  sixty  to 
eighty  fathoms 
long ;  this  they 
haul  in  shoal - 
smooth  water, 
and  its  own 
weight  keeps  it 
so  close  to  the 
ground  that 
scarcely  a  single 
fishcanescape.'^ 
They  also  used 
certain  leaves 
and  fruit  which, 
when  thrown 
into  the  water, 
inebriated  the 
fish  to  such  a 
degree,  that 
they  might   be 


South  Sea  Axe  of  Ceremony. 


BASKETS.       MATS.       BARK-CLOTH. 


473 


Fig.  213. 


caught  by  the  hands*.     Their  fishing-lines  were  made  of 
the  bark  of  the  Erowa,  a  kind  of  nettle   which  grows    in 
the  mountains,  and  were  described  as  "  the  best  fishing-lines 
in  the  world/'  better  even  than  our  strongest   silk  lines. 
They  also  used  the  fibres  of  the  cocoa-nut  for  making  threads, 
with  which  they  fastened  together  the  various  parts  of  their 
canoes.      They   were   very   dexterous  in 
making  basket  and  wicker-work,  "  of  a 
thousand  different  patterns,  many  of  them 
exceedingly  neat ;"  they  also  made  many 
sorts   of  mats    from   rushes,   grass,    and 
bark,  which  were  woven  with  great  neat- 
ness and  regularity,  although  entirely  by 
hand  and  without  any  loom  or  machinery  f. 
But    their   principal   manufacture  was    a 
kind   of  cloth,  made   from  bark,  and  of 
which  there  were  three  varieties,  obtained 
respectively     from    the    paper-mulberry, 
which  was  the  best,  the  bread-fruit  tree, 
and  a  kind  of  fig.     This  last,  though  less 
ornamental,  was  more  useful  than  either 
of  the  others,  because  it  resisted  water, 
which  they  did  not.     All  three  kinds  of 
cloth  were   made  in   the  same  way,   the 
difference  between  them  being  only  in  the 
material.  When  the  trees  were  of  a  proper 
size,  that  is  to  say,  about  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  somewhat 
•thicker  than  a  man's  thumb,  they  were  pulled  up  and  the  roots 
and  branches  were  cut  off.    The  bark  being  slit  up  longitudi- 
nally, it  peeled  off  readily,  and  was  then  soaked  for  some  time 
in  running  water.    After  this  the  green  outside  bark  was  care- 
fully scraped  off  with  a  shell,  and  the  strips  were  laid  out  in  the 

*  Forster,  Observations  made  during  a  Voyage  round  the  World,  p.  AC>i  j 
ElUs,  vol.  ii.  p.  288.  t  Ellis,  vol.  ii.  pp.  179,  ISO. 


South  Sea  Fish-hook. 


474  DEESS. 

evening  to  diy^  being  placed  one  by  tbe  side  of  anotlier  "  till 
they  are  about  a  foot  bi'oad,  and  two  or  tbree  layers  are  also 
laid  one  upon  tlie  other."  By  the  morning  a  great  part  of 
the  water  had  drained  off  or  evaporated,,  and  "  the  several 
fibres  adhere  together,  so  as  that  the  whole  may  be  raised 
from  the  ground  in  one  piece."  It  was  then  placed  on  the 
smooth  side  of  a  long  piece  of  wood,  and  beaten  by  the 
women-servants  with  a  wooden  instrument,  shaped  like  a 
square  razor-strap,  and  about  a  foot  long.  The  four  sides  of 
this  instrument  were  "  marked  lengthways,  with  small  grooves 
or  furrows,  of  different  degrees  of  fineness ;  those  on  one 
side  being  of  a  width  and  depth  sufficient  to  receive  a  small 
packthread,  and  the  others  finer  in  a  regular  gradation,  so 
that  the  last  are  not  more  than  equal  to  sewing  silk.^' 
They  beat  the  cloth  first  with  the  coarsest  side  and  after- 
wards with  the  others,  ending  with  the  finest :  under  this 
treatment  it  expanded  greatly,  and  might  be  made  almost  as 
thin  as  a  muslin.  The  different  pieces  of  bark  by  this  treat- 
ment were  so  closely  fastened  together,  that  the  cloth  might 
be  washed  and  wrung  out  without  any  fear  of  tearing  ;  but 
even  if  it  were  accidentally  broken,  it  was  repaired  without 
difficulty,  by  pasting  on  a  patch  with  a  gluten  prepared  from 
the  root  of  the  ]3ea :  this  was  done  so  nicely  that  it  could 
not  be  discovered.  This  cloth  was  cool  and  agreeable  to 
the  touch,  being  even  softer  than  our  broadcloth.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  fineness  was  regulated 
according  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended.  The  two 
first  kinds  were  easily  bleached,  and  then  dyed  of  various , 
colours,  generally  red  and  yellow.  Both  of  these  were 
vegetable  colours,  and  not  very  fast. 

They  had  various  strange  and  complicated  dresses  for  great 
occasions,  but  their  ordinary  clothes  were  very  simple,  and 
consisted  of  two  parts.  One  of  them  was  a  piece  of  cloth 
with  a  hole  "  in  the  middle  to  put  the  head  through,"  and 


DRESS.  475 

long  enough, to  reach  from  the  shoulder  to  the  knee.  The 
other  was  wrapped  round  the  waist  so  as  to  hang  down  like 
a  petticoat  as  low  as  the  knee ;  this  was  called  the  Parou, 
Frequently  also  they  wore  a  piece  of  cloth  tied  round  the 
head  like  a  turban.  The  dress  of  the  Queen  is  thus  described 
by  Ellis*:  '^  She  was  attired  in  a  lights  loose^  and  flowing 
dress  of  beautifully  white  native  cloth,  tastefully  fastened  on 
the  left  shoulder,  and  reaching  to  the  ankle;  her  hair  was 
rather  lighter  than  that  of  the  natives  in  general;  and  on 
her  head  she  wore  a  light  and  elegant  native  bonnet,  of 
green  and  yellow  cocoa-nut  leaves ;  each  ear  was  perforated, 
and  in  the  perforation  two  or  three  flowers  of  the  fragrant 
Cape  jessamine  were  inserted."  The  dress  of  the  men  was 
very  similar,  but  instead  of  the  petticoat,  they  brought  the 
cloth  between  the  legs ;  this  was  called  the  Maro.  In  hot 
weather t,  and  at  noon,  both  sexes  went  almost  naked,  wear- 
ing only  the  cloth  round  the  waist.  Besides  the  turbans 
and  head-dresses  of  leaves,  they  sometimes  wore  long  plaits 
of  human  hair,  which  they  wound  about  tlie  head  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  produce  a  very  pretty  effect.  They  were 
very  clean  both  in  their  persons  and  their  clothes ;  constantly 
washing  three  times  a  day.  Ornaments  were  worn  by  the 
men  as  much  as  by  the  women,  and  consisted  of  feathers, 
flowers,  pieces  of  shells,  and  pearls.  Tattooing  also  was 
almost  universal ;  and  a  person  not  properly  tattooed  would 
"be  as  much  reproached  and  shunned,  as  if  with  us  he 
should  go  about  the  streets  naked  J."  They  anointed  their 
heads  frequently  with  perfumed  cocoa-nut  oil,  but  had  no 
combs,  which  in  so  hot  a  country  must  have  been  much 
wanted.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  hair  of  the  grown-up 
people  was  very  neatly  dressed. 


*  I.  c.  p.  148.  work,  with  handles  of  the  same  or 

+  The    Sandwich    Islanders    had       of  wood, 
small  square  fans  of  mat  or  wicker-  J  Wilson,  1.  c.  p.  355. 


476 


CANOES.      MUSIC. 


Their  houses  were  used  principally  as  dormi|ories.  They 
were  made  of  wood^  and  were  generally  about  twenty-four 
feet  long,  eleven  wide,  and  nine  feet  high.  They  had  no 
side  walls,  but  the  roof  reached  to  within  about  three 
feet  and  a  half  of  the  ground.  Palm  leaves  took  the  place 
of  thatch,  and  the  floor  was  generally  covered  with  soft 
hay. 

The  canoes  resembled  those  of  the  Feegeeans,  but  are  said 
to  have  been  scarcely  so  well  built.  To  prepare  the  planks 
was  no  easy  task,  but  the  great  difficulty  was  to  fasten  them 
together.  This  was  effected  by  ''  strong  thongs  of  plaiting, 
which  are  passed  several  times  through  holes  that  are  bored 
with  a  gouge  or  auger  of  bone*.^^  The  length  of  the  canoes 
varied  from  ten  up  to  ninety  feet,  ''  but  the  breadth  is  by  no 
means  in  proportion ;  for  those  of  ten  feet  are  about  a  foot 
wide,  and  those  of  more  than  seventy  are  scarcely  twof-" 
These  larger  ones  were  not,  however,  used  singly,  but  were 
fastened  together  side  by  side,  in  the  manner  already  de- 
scribed. A  canoe  without  an  outrigger  seemed  to  them  an 
impossibility  J.  The  labour  of  constructing  these  canoes  must 
have  been  very  great ;  nevertheless,  the  South  Sea  Islanders 
possessed  large  numbers  of  them.  On  one  occasion  Captain 
Cook  saw  more  than  three  hundred  in  one  place;  and, 
without  counting  the  smaller  vessels,  he  estimated  the  whole 
naval  force  of  the  Society  Islands  at  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  war  canoes,  manned  by  sixty-eight  thousand  men§. 

Their  principal  musical  instrument  was  the  drum ;  it  was 
made  from  a  piece  of  solid  wood,  hollowed  out,  and  covered 
over  with  shark's  skin.  They  had  also  a  kind  of  trumpet 
made  of  a  large  shell,  with  a  hole  at  the  small  end  into 
which  they  fastened  a  bamboo  cane  about  three  feet  long. 
Their  flutes  were  of  bamboo,  and  were  blown  with  the  nose. 


*  Cook's   First   Voyage,   p.   225 ; 
Forster,  1.  c.  p.  459.  , 

t  Cook's  First  Voyage,  p.  221. 


X  Ellis,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  55. 
§  Cook's    Second  Voyage,  vol.  i. 
p.  349. 


GAMES.        FURNITURE.      WEAPONS.  477 

They  had  various  kinds  of  games,  some  of  which  appear  to 
have  resembled  our  hockey  and  football.  They  were  also 
very  fond  of  dancing. 

They  were  quite  ignorant  of  pottery,  but  had  large  dishes 
made  of  polished  wood.  The  shells  of  cocoa-nuts  were  used 
as  water-bottles  and  cups.  They  were  scraped  thin,  polished, 
often  very  ingeniously  carved,  and  kept  extremely  clean. 
Generally  the  natives  of  Tahiti  sat  cross-legged  on  mats 
spread  on  the  floor;  but  the  chiefs  had  often  four-legged 
stools.  Chairs  and  tables  were  unknoAvn.  They  slept  also 
on  mats  and  used  a  wooden  pillow,  very  much  resembling 
a  small  stool.  Tlie  upper  side  was  curved  like  the  seat 
of  the  stool,  to  admit  the  neck.  Each  house  also  contained 
a  light  post,  planted  in  the  floor,  and  with  several  pro- 
jections, from  which  the  various  dishes,  calabashes  of  water, 
baskets  of  food,  etc.,  were  hung*. 

Their  weapons  were  formidable,  though  simple.  They 
consisted  of  slings,  pikes  headed  with  stone,  and  long  clubs 
made  of  hard,  heavy  wood.  With  the  former  they  were 
very  skilful.  Their  slingstones  were  of  two  kinds,  "  either 
smooth,  being  polished  by  friction  in  the  bed  of  a  river,  or 
sharp,  angular  and  rugged  ;  these  were  called  ofai  ara — faced 
or  edged  stones f."  We  have  already  mentioned  (p.  101) 
that  two  sorts  of  slingstones,  closely  corresponding  to  these, 
were  used  by  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Europe.  It  would 
be  interesting  to  know  the  relative  advantage  of  the  two 
classes,  which  surely  cannot  have  been  used  for  exactly  the 
same  purposes.  They  had  also  bows  and  arrows,  which, 
however,  were  not  suflSciently  strong  to  be  used  in  warfare. 
The  bow-strings  were  made  of  Roava  bark  J.  The  Society 
Islanders  are  said  to  have  been  cruel  in  war,  but  according 
to    Captain   Cook   "they   are   seldom   disturbed    by   either 

*  Ellis,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  184.  f  Ellis,  I.e.  yoI.  ii.  p.  49. 

X  Wilson,  1.  c.  p.  368. 


478 


FOOD.       FIRE. 


foreign  or  domestic  troubles."  Thougli  not  cowards,  they 
regard  it  as  "  mucli  less  disgraceful  to  run  away  from  an 
enemy  with  whole  bones,  than  to  fight  and  be  wounded*." 

"  Of  tame  animals  they  had  only  hogs,  dogs,  and  poultry  f ; 
neither  was  there  a  wild  animal  in  the  island,  except  ducks, 
pigeons,  parroquets,  with  a  few  other  birds,  and  rats,  there 
being  no  other  quadruped,  nor  any  serpentj."  The  dogs 
were  kept  entirely  for  food,  and  Captain  Cook  assures  us 
that  "a  South  .Sea  dog  was  little  inferior  to  an  English 
lamb ;  their  excellence  is  probably  owing  to  their  being  kept 
up,  and  fed  wholly  on  vegetables."  The  natives  preferred 
dog  to  pork.  From  the  sea  they  obtained  excellent  fish  and 
shell-fish.  They  had  also  bread-fruit,  bananas,  plantains, 
yams,  cocoa-nuts,  potatoes,  the  sugar  cane,  a  fruit  not  unlike 
an  apple,  and  several  other  plants  which  served  for  fruit,  and 
required  very  little  culture.  The  bread-fruit  tree  supplied 
them  with  abundance  of  fresh  fruit  for  eight  months,  and 
during  the  other  four  they  used  "mahie,"  which  is  a  kind 
of  sour  paste,  prepared  from  the  fermented  ripe  fruit.  It  is 
probable  that  nine-tenths  of  their  diet  consisted  of  vegetable 
food ;  and  the  common  people  scarcely  ever  tasted  either 
pork  or  dog,  although  the  hogs  appear  to  have  been  very 
abundant. 

They  obtained  fire  by  friction.  When  the  wood  was  quite 
dry  the  process  did  not  take  longer  than  two  minutes,  but  in 
wet  weather  it  was  very  tedious.  Having  no  pottery,  they 
did  not  boil  their  food.  "  It  is  impossible,"  says  Wallis,  "  to 
describe  the  astonishment  they  expressed  when  they  saw  the 
gunner,  who,  while  he  kept  the  market,  used  to  dine  on 
shore,  dress  his  pork  and  poultry  by  boiling  them  in  a  pot ; 
having,  as  I  have  before  observed,  no  vessel  that  would  bear 


*  Wilson,  1.  c.  p.  363. 
t  Wallis'  Voyage  round  the  World; 
Hawkesworth's  Voyages,  vol.  i.p.  482. 


X  Cook's  Voyage  round  the  World, 
p.  187. 


COOKERY.  479 

the  fire,  they  had  no  idea  of  hot  water*."  Captain  Cook 
also  expressly  states  that  "  they  have  but  two  ways  of  apply- 
ing fire  to  dress  their  food,  broiling  and  baking f."  Mr. 
Tylor,  however,  has  pointed  out  J  that  they  were  acquainted 
with  the  use  of  boiling-stones,  and  that  they  could  not  there- 
fore have  been  entirely  ignorant  of  hot  water.  In  order  to 
bake  a  hog,  they  made  a  small  pit  in  the  ground,  which  they 
paved  with  large  stones,  over  which  they  then  lighted  a  fire. 
When  the  stones  were  hot  enough,  they  took  out  the  embers, 
raked  away  the  ashes,  and  covered  the  stones  with  green 
cocoa-nut  leaves.  The  animal  which  was  to  be  dressed, 
having  been  cleaned  and  prepared,  was  wrapped  up  in  plan- 
tain leaves,  and  covered  with  the  hot  embers,  on  which  again 
they  placed  bread-fruit  and  yams,  which  also  were  wTapped 
up  in  plantain  leaves.  Over  these  they  spread  the  rest  of 
the  embers,  and  some  hot  stones,  finally  covering  the  whole 
with  earth.  The  meat  thus  cooked  is  described  as  being 
tender  and  full  of  gravy;  in  fact,  both  Wallis  and  Cook 
considered  that  it  was  "  better  in  every  respect  than  when  it 
is  dressed  in  any  other  way."  For  sauce  they  used  salt 
water,  without  which  no  meal  was  ever  eaten,  and  a  kind 
of  thick  paste  made  from  the  kernels  of  cocoa-nuts.  At 
their  meals  they  drank  either  water  or  cocoa-nut  juice.  The 
Sandwich  Islanders  were  very  fond  of  salt  meat,  and  had 
regular  salt-pans  on  the  sea-shore §. 

The  only  intoxicating  liquor  was  the  ava,  an  infusion  made 
from  the  root,  stalks,  and  leaves  of  a  kind  of  pepper,  which, 
however,  fortunately  for  them,  was  entirely  forbidden  to  the 
women,  and  seldom  permitted  to  the  lower  classes.  In  some 
of  the  other  islands  this  liquid  is  prepared  in  a  very  disgusting 
way.     The  roots  were  broken  in  pieces,  cleaned,  chewed,  and 

*  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  484.  §  Cook's  Third  Voyage,    vol.   iii. 

t  Second  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  197.  p.  151. 

X  Early  History  of  Mankind,  p.  266. 


480  AVA.     A  chief's  dinner.  , 

then  placed  in  a  wooden  bowl,  mixed  with  a  certain  quantity 
of  water,  and  stirred  up  with  the  hands.  In  Tahiti,  how- 
ever, the  chewing  was  dispensed  with.  The  wooden  bowls 
out  of  which  the  chiefs  drank  their  ava  were  often  very 
fair  specimens  of  carving.  In  the  Sandwich  Islands  they 
are  described  as  having  been  "usually  about  eight  or  ten 
inches  in  diameter,  perfectly  round,  and  beautifully  polished. 
They  are  supported  by  three,  and  sometimes  four,  small 
human  figures,  in  various  attitudes.  Some  of  them  rest 
on  the  hands  of  their  supporters,  extended  over  the  head ; 
others  on  the  head  and  hands ;  and  some  on  the  shoulders." 
These  figures  are  said  to  have  been  "accurately  propor- 
tioned and  neatly  finished,  and  even  the  anatomy  of  the 
muscles,  in  supporting  the  weight,  well  expressed*." 

Captain  Cookf  gives  an  interesting  description  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  chiefs  dined.  They  had  no  table,  and 
each  person  ate  alone  and  in  silence.  Some  leaves  were 
spread  on  the  ground  to  serve  as  a  table-cloth,  and  a  basket 
was  set  by  the  chief  containing  his  provision,  which,  if  fish 
or  flesh,  was  ready  dressed  and  wrapped  in  leaves.  Two 
cocoa-nut  shells  were  put  by  the  side,  one  containing  salt 
water  and  the  other  fresh.  He  first  washed  his  hands  and 
mouth  thoroughly  with  the  fresh  water,  and  this  he  repeated 
almost  continually  through  the  meal.  He  then  took  part  of 
his  provision  out  of  the  basket,  which  generally  consisted 
of  a  small  fish  or  two,  two  or  three  bread-fruits,  fourteen  or 
fifteen  ripe  bananas,  or  six  or  seven  apples.  He  began  by 
eating  some  bread-fruit,  at  the  same  time  breaking  one  of 
the  fishes  into  the  salt  water.  He  then  took  up  the  bits  of 
fish  in  his  'fingers,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  get  with  it  as  much 
salt  water  as  possible,  and  very  frequently  he  took  a  mouth- 
ful of  the  salt  water,  either  out  of  the  cocoa-nut  or  in  his 
hand.     Sometimes,  also,  he  drank  the  juice  of  a  cocoa-nut. 

*  Third  Voyage,  toI.  iii.  p.  148.  f  First  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  200. 


SOLITARY   MEALS.  481 

"WTien  he  had  done  his  bread-fruit  and  fish,  he  began  his 
plantains  or  apples,  after  which  he  ate  some  more  bread- 
fruit, beaten  into  a  sort  of  paste,  and  generally  flavoured  with 
banana  or  some  other  fruit.  For  a  knife  he  used  either  a 
shell  or  a  piece  of  split  bamboo,  and  in  conclusion  he  again 
washed  his  hands  and  mouth.  They  were  quite  unacquainted 
with  forks,  and  Captain  Wallis*  tells  us  that,  during  his 
visit,  one  of  the  natives  who  "  tried  to  feed  himself  with 
that  instrument,  could  not  guide  it,  but  by  the  mere  force  of 
habit  his  hand  came  to  his  mouth  and  the  victuals  at  the  end 
of  the  fork  went  away  to  his  ear."  Nor  did  they  use  plates. 
Poulaho,  Chief  of  the  Friendly  Island?,  dining  one  day  on 
iJbard  the  ship,  was  so  much  struck  by  the  pewter  plates 
that  Captain  Cook  gave  him  one.  He  did  not,  however, 
intend  to  employ  it  in  the  usual  manner,  but  said  that  "  when- 
ever he  should  have  occasion  to  visit  any  of  the  other  islands, 
he  would  leave  this  plate  behind  him  at  Tougataboo,  as  a 
sort  of  representative  in  his  absence  f." 

Captain  Cook  was  much  surprised  to  find  that  a  people 
who  were  so  sociable,  and  who  enjoyed  so  much  the  society 
of  women,  never  made  their  meals  together.  Even  brothers 
and  sisters  had  each  their  own  basket,  and  when  they  wished 
to  eat  would  go  out,  "  sit  down  upon  the  ground,  at  two  or 
three  yards'  distance  from  each  other,  and  turning  their  faces 
different  ways,  take  their  repast  without  interchanging  a 
single  word."  They  ate  alone,  they  said,  "  because  it  was 
right,"  but  why  it  was  right  they  were  unable  to  explain. 
We  must,  however,  remember  that  these  islanders  were 
together  much  more  than  we  are.  We  enjoy  a  sociable 
meal,  because  the  nature  of  our  occupations  keeps  us  apart 
so  much  at  other  times ;  but  among  a  people  whose  wants 
were  supplied  with  so  little  exertion  on  their  part,  who  were 
all  day  long  together,  and  had  no  rooms  into  which  they 

*  Voyage  round  the  World,  p.  482.  t  Third  Voyage,  toI.  i.  p.  326. 

33  ■' 


482  SUEGEEY. 

could  retire  and  be  alone,  it  must  have  been  a  great  tiling  to 
have  some  way  of  escaping  from  their  friends  and  being 
quiet,  without  giving  offence.  As  there  were  no  stated  times 
for  meals,  a  man  who  wished  to  be  alone  need  only  to  take 
out  his  basket  of  provisions,  and  he  might  be  sure  that  he 
would  not  be  disturbed.  This  custom,  therefore,  seems  to 
have  been  both  ingenious  and  convenient*. 

Although  they  usually  went  to  bed  soon  after  dark,  still 
the  natives  of  Tahiti  were  not  entirely  without  candles ;  for 
which  they  used  the  "  kernels  of  a  kind  of  oily  nut,  which 
they  stick  one  over  another  upon  a  skewer  that  is  thrust 
thi'ough  the  middle  of  them."  These  candles  burned  a  con- 
siderable time,  and  are  said  to  have  given  a  pfetty  godd 
light.  The  Society  Islanders  had  no  knowledge  of  medicine 
as  distinct  from  witchcraft ;  but  some  wonderful  stories  are 
told  of  their  skill  in  surgery.  I  will  give  perhaps  the  most 
extraordinary.  "  It  is  related,"  says  Mr.  Ellis,  "  although," 
he  adds,  with  perfect  gravity,  "I  confess  I  can  scarcely 
believe  it,  that  on  some  occasions,  when  the  brain  has  been 
injured  as  well  as  the  bone,  they  have  opened  the  skull, 
taken  out  the  injured  portion  of  the  brain,  and,  having  a  pig 
ready,  have  killed  it,  taken  out  the  pig^s  brains,  put  them  in 
•  the  man's  head,  and  covered  them  up-j-." 

The  nostrils  of  the  female  infants  were  often  pressed  or 
spread  out  during  infancy,  because  they  looked  on  a  flat 
nose  as  a  mark  of  beauty.  In  the  same  way  the  boys  some- 
times had  their  forehead  and  the  back  of  their  head  pressed 
upwards,  so  that  the  upper  part  of  the  skull  appeared  in  the 

• 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  moment  my  dinner  or  breakfast  was 

have  met  with  the  following  passage  brought  to  me.     This  gave  me  a  few 

in  Burchell :  "  I  had  sufficient  reason  moments'  relief  from  the  fatigue  of 

for  admiring  one  of  the  customs  of  incessant  conversation."     Travels  in 

the  Bachapins  ;  that,  notwithstand-  Southern  Africa,  vol.  ii.  p.  408. 
ing  they  never  at  any  other  time  left  f  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  277. 

me  alone,  they   always  retired   the 


MODES    OP   BURIAL.       OBEREA's    MORAL  483 

shape  of  a  ■wedge.     Tliis  was  supposed  to  make  them  look 
more  formidable  in  war*. 

The  dead  were  not  buried  at  once,  but  were  placed  on  a 
platform  raised  several  feet  above  the  ground,  and  neatly 
railed  in  with  bamboo.  The  body  was  covered  with  a  cloth, 
and  sheltered  by  a  roof.  By  the  side  were  deposited  the 
weapons  of  the  deceased,  and  a  supply  of  food  and  water. 
"When  the  body  had  entirely  decayed,  the  bones  were  col- 
lected, carefully  cleaned  and  buried,  according  to  the  rank 
of  the  deceased,  either  within  or  without  a  "moraif."  The 
largest  moral  seen  by  Captain  Cook  was  the  one  prepared 
for  Oamo  and  Oberea,  who  were  the  then  reigning  sovereigns. 
This  was  indeed  the  ''  principal  piece  of  architecture  in  the 
island.  It  was  a  pile  of  stonework,  raised  pyramidically, 
upon  an  oblong  base,  or  square,  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
feet  long,  and  eighty-seven  wide.  It  was  built  like  the  small 
pyramidal  mounts  upon  w^hich  we  sometimes  fix  the  pillar 
of  a  sun-dial,  where  each  side  is  a  flight  of  steps;  the 
steps,  however,  at  the  sides,  were  broader  than  those  at  the 
ends,  so  that  it  terminated  not  in  a  square  of  the  same  figure 
with  the  base,  but  in  a  ridge,  like  the  roof  of  a  house :  there 
were  eleven  of  these  steps,  each  of  which  was  four  feet  high, 
so  that  the  height  of  the  pile  was  forty-four  feet ;  each  step 
was  formed  of  one  course  of  white  coral  stone,  which  was 
neatly  squared  and  polished ;  the  rest  of  the  mass,  for  there 
was  no  hollow  within,  consisted  of  round  pebbles,  which, 
from  the  regularity  of  their  figure,  seemed  to  have  been 
wrought |."     A  very  similar  account  of  this  structure  has 

*  Ellis,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  343.  vol.  iii.  p.  6).  In  the  Friendly  Islands, 

f  In  some  cases  the  head  is  not  D'Urville  saw  a  similar  mausoleum 

buried  -with  the  other  bones,  but  is  built  with  blocks  of  stone,  some  of 

deposited  in  a  kind  of  box.  which  were  twenty  feet  long,  six  or 

X  Cook's  Voyage  round  the  World,  eight  broad,  and  two  in  height.  They 

vol.  ii.  p.  166.    Similar  but  somewhat  were   neatly   squared.     1.  c.   vol.  iv. 

smaller  morais  were  observed  in  the  p.  106. 

Sandwich   Islands     (Third   Voyage, 


484.  RELIGION. 

been  more  recently  given  by  Wilson*,  who  makes  tbe  size 
and  height  a  little  greater ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that 
this  was  raised  without  the  assistance  of  iron  tools  to  shape 
the  stones,  or  of  mortar  to  fasten  them  together,  it  is  im- 
possible not  to  be  struck  with  admiration  at  the  magnitude 
of  the  enterprise,  and  the  skill  with  which  it  appears  to 
have  been  carried  out.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important 
monument  which  is  positively  known  to  have  been  con- 
structed with  stone  tools  only,  and  renders  it  the  less 
unlikely  that  some  of  the  large  tumuli  and  other  ancient 
monuments  of  Europe  may  belong  to  the  Stone  Age.  When 
a  chief  died,  his  relations  and  attendants  cut  and  mangled 
themselves  in  a  dreadful  manner.  They  ran  spears  through 
their  thighs,  arms,  and  cheeks,  and  beat  themselves  about 
the  head  with  clubs  '^  till  the  blood  ran  down  in  streams. ^^ 
They  also  frequently  cut  off  the  little  finger  on  these 
occasions ;  a  curious  custom,  which  is  common  also  in  the 
Friendly  Islands. 

In  Tiarrabou,  Captain  Cook  saw  a  rude  figure  of  a  man, 
made  of  basket-work  and  about  seven  feet  high.  This  was 
intended  as  a  representation  of  one  of  the  inferior  gods,  but 
was  said  to  be  the  only  one  on  the  island ;  for  the  natives, 
when  first  discovered,  though  they  worshipped  numerous 
deities,  to  whom  also  human  sacrifices  were  sometimes  offered, 
yet  were  not  idolaters.  At  a  later  period,  however,  Ellis  saw 
among  them  many  rude  idols f.  Captain  Cook  found  their 
religion,  "like  that  of  most  other  countries,  involved  in 
mystery,  and  perplexed  with  apparent  inconsistencies  J. ^' 
They  believed  in  the  survival  of  the  soul,  and  in  "  two 
situations  of  different  degrees  of  happiness,  somewhat  analo- 
gous to  our  heaven  and  hell;"  but,  far  from  regarding  them; 
as  places  of  reward  and  punishment,  thought  that  the  hap- 

*  1.  c.  p.  207.  t  Ellis,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  526  ;  Wilson,  1.  c.  p.  242. 

X  See  also  Forster,  1.  c.  p.  539. 


GOVERNMENT.  485 

piest  lot  was  of  course  intended  for  the  chiefs  and  superior 
classes,  the  other  for  the  people  of  inferior  rank*.  Indeed, 
they  did  not  suppose  that  their  actions  here  in  the  least 
influenced  their  future  state;  so  that  their  religion  did 
not  act  upon  them  by  promises  or  threats,  and  "  their  ex- 
pressions of  adoration  and  reverence,  whether  by  words  or 
actions,  arise  only  from  a  humble  sense  of  their  own  infe- 
riority, and  the  ineffable  excellence  of  divine  perfection." 
However  mistaken  they  may  have  been  on  many  points, 
however  wrong  many  of  their  customs  doubtless  appear  to 
us,  surely  under  such  a  creed  as  this,  good  actions  become 
doubly  virtuous,  and  virtue  itself  shines  the  brighter. 

They  had  no  laws,  nor  courts  of  justice.  Personal  security 
and  the  rights  of  private  property  were  but  little  regarded 
among  them.  The  chiefs  and  priests  exercised  an  authority 
founded  on  fear  and  superstition.  They  were,  in  fact,  governed 
by  custom  rather  than  by  law,  for  which,  indeed,  they  had  no 
word  in  the  language  f.  It  is  only  fair  to  the  chiefs  to  add 
that  they  were  above  being  idle,  and  thought  it  a  disgrace  if 
they  did  not  excel  in  all  departments  of  labour  J.  In  charac- 
ter the  inhabitants  of  Tahiti,  according  to  Captain  Cook, 
"  were  liberal,  brave,  open,  and  candid,  without  either  suspi- 
cion or  treachery,  cruelty  or  revenge  §."  They  were  very 
anxious  for  education.  The  women  were  affectionate,  tender, 
and  obedient ;  the  men  mild,  generous,  slow  to  take  offence, 
and  easily  satisfied.  Both  sexes  were  very  healthy.  "  I 
never  saw  any  one,"  says  Forster|l,  "of  a  morose,  peevish, 
discontented  disposition  in  the  whole  nation ;  they  all  join 
to  their  cheerful  temper  a  politeness  and  elegance  which  is 
happily  blended  with  the  most  innocent  simplicity  of  man- 
ners."    Murders  were  very  rare  among  them ;  and  though 

*  Cook's  FirstVoyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  239;  t  Ellis,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  178. 

Ellis,  vol.  i.  p.  518.  §  First  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  188. 

t  ElUs,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  127.  ||  I.  c.  p.  582. 


486 


IDEAS   OF    EIGHT   AND   WRONG. 


mucli  licence  was  permitted  to  the  young  women  before 
marriage,  the  married  women,  according  to  Captain  Cook*, 
were  as  well  behaved  "  as  in  any  other  country  whatever." 
They  were  very  thievish;  but  we  must  consider  the  immense 
temptations  to  which  they  were  subjected,  and  the,  to  them, 
inestimable  value  of  the  articles  which  they  stole.  Like 
other  savages,  they  resembled  children  in  many  respects, 
their  sorrows  were  transient,  their  passions  suddenly  and 
strongly  expressed.  On  one  occasion,  Oberea,  the  queen, 
who  was  then  about  forty  years  old,  took  a  particular  fancy 
to  a  large  doll,  which  was  accordingly  presented  to  her. 
Shortly  afterwards  they  met  Tootahah,  one  of  the  principal 
chiefs,  who  became  so  jealous  of  Oberea's  doll,  that  they 
were  obliged  to  give  him  one  also. 

There  are  scarcely  any  nations,  whether  barbarous  or 
civilized,  in  which  the  relations  of  the  two  sexes  are  on  the 
whole  satisfactory.  Savages,  almost  without  exception,  treat 
their  women  as  slaves,  and  civilized  nations  too  often  avoid 
this  error  only  to  fall  into  others. 

The  inhabitants  of  Tahiti  are  said  to  have  been  absolutely 
without  any  ideas  of  decency,  or  rather  as  Captain  Cook  puts 
it,  perhaps  more  correctly,  "  of  indecency."  This  no  doubt 
arose  in  part  from  their  large  open  houses,  which  were  not 
divided  into  separate  rooms.  However  this  may  be,  where 
there  was  no  sin,  they  saw  no  shame,  and  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  in  many  points  their  idea  of  sin  was  very  different 
from  ours.  Before,  however,  we  condemn  them,  let  us  re- 
member that  a  dinner-party  would  have  seemed  as  wrong 
to  them  as  many  of  their  customs  do  to  us.  If  the  freedom, 
both  in  language  and  in  action,  which  they  permitted  to 
themselves,  seems  to  us  in  many  respects  objectionable,  we 
must  not  forget  that  our  ideas  of  delicacy  shut  out  from 
general  conversation  numerous  subjects  of  great  interest  and 

*  Voyage  to  the  South  Pole,  vol.  i.  p.  187. 


THE   AEREOY   SOCIETT.  487 

importance,  and  throw  round  many  matters  of  tlie  utmost 
importance  an  air  of  mystery  which  is  not  without  serious 
disadvantages. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  principal  people  of  both 
sexes  in  Tahiti  were  formed  into  an  association  called  the 
^''Arreoy/'  all  the  members  of  which  were  regarded  as  being 
married  to  one  another.  K  any  of  the  women  of  the  society 
had  a  child,  it  was  almost  invariably  killed :  but  if  it  was 
allowed  to  live,  the  father  and  mother  were  regarded  as 
having  definitively  engaged  themselves  to  one  another,  and 
were  ejected  from  the  association ;  the  woman  being  known 
from  that  time  as  a  "  bearer  of  children,"  which  was  among 
this  extraordinary  people  a  term  of  reproach.  The  existence 
of  such  a  society  shows  how  fundamentally  the  idea  of  virtue 
may  differ  in  different  countries.  Yet  the  married  women 
were  faithful  to  their  husbands,  and  beautifully  modest.  It 
is  impossible,  indeed,  to  acquit  even  them  of  the  charge  of 
infanticide,  for  which  we  may  find  a  cause,  though  not  an 
excuse.  I  do  not  allude  to  the  curious  custom,  that  a  child, 
as  soon  as  it  was  born,  inherited  the  titles,  rank,  and  pro- 
perty of  its  father,  so  that  a  man  who  was  yesterday  a  chief 
might  be  thus  at  once  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  private 
person;  nor  to  the  fact  that  any  Arreoy  who  spared  her 
infant  was  at  once  excluded  from  that  society.  We  cannot 
suppose  that  such  customs  were  without  their  effect ;  but  a 
more  powerful  reason  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  fact,  that 
their  numbers  were  already  large,  the  means  of  subsistence 
limited,  and  that,  as  but  few  were  carried  off  either  by 
disease  or  in  war,  the  population  would  soon  have  outgrown 
their  supplies,  if  some  means  were  not  taken  to  check  the 
natural  increase  of  numbers*.  However  this  may  be,  infan- 
ticide appears  to  have  been  dreadfully  prevalent  amongst 
them.  It  has  been  estimated  that  two-thirds  of  the  children 
*  See,  for  inatance,  Kotzebue's  New  Voyage,  vol.  i.  p.  308. 


488 


GENERAL   CHAEACTEE. 


were  destroyed  by  their  own  parents*,  and  both  Mr.  Nott 
and  Mr.  Ellis  agree  that,  during  the  whole  of  their  residence 
in  the  island,  until  the  adoption  of  Christianity,  they  did 
not  know'a  single  case  of  a  mother  who  had  not  been  guilty 
of  this  crime. 

According  to  Wilson  f,  their  language  contained  no  word 
for  ^'  thanks,^'  and  even  Cook  admits  that  they  had  no  respect 
for  old  age.  Fitzroy  goes  still  farther,  and  assures  us  that 
"  they  scrupled  not  to  destroy  their  aged  or  sick — yes,  even 
their  parents,  if  disabled  by  age  or  sickness  J. ^'  No  such 
accusation  is,  however,  brought  against  them  by  earlier 
writers,  so  that  such  actions  are  probably  very  rare,  and 
the  result,  as  among  the  Feegeeans,  of  misdirected  affection 
rather  than  of  deliberate  cruelty. 

They  had  no  money;  and  though  it  was  easy  to  obtain 
the  necessaries  of  life,  to  accumulate  property  was  almost 
impossible.  Again,  the  absence  of  spirituous  liquors,  and 
the  relations  between  the  sexes  (however  unsatisfactory  in 
other  respects),  took  away  from  them  some  of  the  principal 
incentives  to  crime.  On  the  whole,  then,  if  we  judge  them 
by  a  South  Sea  standard,  the  natives  of  the  Society  Islands 
appear  to  have  been  very  free  from  crime. 

In  spite  of  the  differences  which  sometimes  arose  in  con- 
sequence of  their  thievish  disposition,  and  also  perhaps  in 
great  measure  from  their  not  being  able  perfectly  to  under- 
stand each  other.  Captain  Cook  and  his  officers  lived  with  the 
natives  "  in  the  most  cordial  friendship,"  and  took  leave  of 
them  with  great  regret.  Mr.  Ellis,  on  the  contrary,  assures 
us  that  ^"^uo  portion  of  the  human  race  was  ever  perhaps 
sunk  lower  in  brutal  licentiousness  and  moral  degradation 
than  this  isolated  people  §."  Such  a  statement  is  surely  quite 
inconsistent  with  the  account  he  gives  of  their  anxiety  to 


*  Ellis,  vol.  i.  pp.  334,  336. 
t  1.  c.  p.  365. 


t  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  551. 

§  Ellis,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  25. 


THE  TONQANS.  489 

possess  copies  of  the  Bible  when  it  was  translated  into  their 
language.  "  They  were/^  he  says,  "  deemed  by  them  more 
precious  than  gold — yea,  than  much  fine  gold/'  and  "  became 
at  once  the  constant  conlpanion  of  their  possessors,  and  the 
source  of  their  highest  enjoyment*." 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Friendly,  or  Tonga,  and  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  are  also  very  well  described  by  Captain 
Cook,  but  they  belonged  to  the  same  race  as  those  of  Tahiti 
and  New  Zealand,  and  resembled  them  in  religion,  language, 
canoes,  houses,  weapons,  food,  habits,  etc.  It  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  in  many  respects, 
as  for  instance  in  their  dances,  houses,  tattooing,  etc., 
resembled  the  New  Zealanders  even  more  than  their  nearer 
neighbours  in  the  Society  and  Friendly  Islands.  In  the 
Friendly  Islands  Captain  Cook  observed  a  very  singular 
luxury  in  which  the  chiefs  indulged  themselves.  When  one 
of  them  wished  to  go  to  sleep,  two  women  came  and  sat 
by  him,  "  beating  briskly  on  his  body  and  legs  with  both 
fists,  as  on  a  drum,  till  he  fell  asleep,  and  continuing  it  the 
whole  night,  with  some  short  intervals."  "When  the  chief 
is  sound  asleep  they  sometimes  rest  themselves  a  little, 
"  but  resume  it  if  they  observe  any  appearance  of  his 
waking  t-"  A  similar  statement  is  made  by  Wilson  in  his 
Missionary  Voyage  J.  In  all  the  islands  the  chiefs  appear 
to  have  been  treated  with  respect,  none  the  less  profound 
because  shown  in  ways  which  seem  to  us  peculiar.  One 
of  them  was  to  uncover  the  body  from  the  waist,  and 
it  seems  to  have  been  a  matter  of  indifference,  or  rather 
of  convenience,  whether  this  was  done  upwards  or  down- 
wards §.  In  the  Friendly  Islands  it  was  accounted  a 
striking  mark  of  rudeness  to  speak  to  the  king  while 
standing  up. 

•  Ellis,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  pp.  393-408.  :  I.e.  p.  237. 

+  Third  Voyage,  vol.  i.  p.  323.  §  Cook's  FirstVoyage,vol.ii. p.  125. 


490 


THE    TONGANS. 


There  was  also  a  certain  amount  of  commerce  between 
the  different  islands.  Bora-bora  and  Otahaw  produced 
abundance  of  cocoa-nut  oil,  which  was  exchanged  at  Tahiti 
for  cloth.  The  Low  Islands,  agaiir,  could  not  successfully 
grow  the  paper-mulberry;  but  they  had  a  breed  of  dogs 
with  long  silky  hair,  which  was  much  prized  in  the  otker 
islands. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MODERN  SAVAGES — continued. 

Esquimaux. 

THE  Esquimaux,  and  the  Esquimaux  alone  among  savage 
races,  occupy  both  the  Old  and  the  New  World. 
They  inhabit  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  from  Siberia 
to  Greenland ;  and  throughout  this  great  extent  of  country 
the  language,  appearance,  habits,  occupations,  and  weapons 
of  the  natives  are  very  similar,  and  it  must  be  added  that 
the  latter  are  most  ingenious.  The  language  of  the  Innuit, 
or  Esquimaux,  is  akin  to  that  of  the  North  American  Indians 
in  structure,  while  their  appearance  has  a  decided  likeness, 
particularly  about  the  eyes,  to  the  Chinese  and  Tartars. 

Their  dwellings  are  of  two  kinds.  The  summer  they  pass 
in  tents  or  wigwams,  with  the  entrance  to  the  south  or 
south-east.  In  those  observed  by  Captain  Parry,  the  tent- 
polos  were,  in  the  absence  of  wood,  formed  of  stags'  horns, 
or  bones  lashed  together.  The  lower  borders  of  the  skins 
were  held  down  by  large  stones.  These  were  sometimes 
built  up  into  regular  circles,  eight  or  nine  feet  in  diameter 
and  four  or  five  feet  high*.*  These  circles  were  at  first  sup- 
posed to  be  the  remains  of  winter-houses ;  but  it  was  sub- 
sequently ascertained  that  they  were  exclusively  used  for 
extending  the  skins  of  the  Bummer-tents.  Near  these  "  hut 
circles"  long  rows  of  standing  stones  were  several   times 

*  Parry's  Voyage,  1821-23,  pp.  17.  51. 


492 


TENTS.       HOUSES. 


observed*.  The  winter-houses  in  the  southern  districts  are 
constructed  of  earth,  or  drift-timber,  which  is  very  abundant 
in  some  places.  In  the  north,  however,  wood  becomes 
extremely  rare.  The  Esquimaux  at  the  northern  end  of 
Baffin's  Bayt,  who  had  no  wood,  excepting  twigs  of  a 
dwarfish  heath,  were  so  little  acquainted  with  the  nature  of 
timber  that  several  of  them  successively  seized  on  the  spare 
top-mast  of  the  "  Isabella,"  evidently  with  the  intention  of 
stealing  it,  and  quite  unconscious  of  its  weight.  In  the 
absence  of  wood  their  houses  were  built  of  ice  and  snow ; 
those  of  ice  are  beautiful,  and  almost  transparent,  so  that 
even  at  some  little  distance  it  is  possible  to  see  every  thing 
that  takes  place  in  them.  They  are,  however,  much  colder 
than  those  of  snow,  which  therefore  are  generally  preferred. 
West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  winter  houses  were  usually 
underground.  A  Kamskatchadale  "  yourt "  is  thus  described 
by  Captain  Cook|:  ''An  oblong  square,  of  dimensions  pro- 
portionate to  the  number  of  persons  for  whom  it  is  intended 
(for  it  is  proper  to  observe  that  several  families  live  together 
in  the  same  jourt),  is  dug  into  the  earth  to  the  depth  of  about 
six  feet.  Within  this  space  strong  posts,  or  wooden  pillars, 
are  fastened  in  the  ground,  at  proper  distances  from  each 
other,  on  which  are  extended  the  beams  for  the  support  of 
the  roof,  which  is  formed  by  joists  resting  on  the  ground 
with  one  end,  and  on  the  beams  with  the  other.  The  in- 
terstices between  the  joists  are  filled  up  with  a  strong  wicker- 
work,  and  the  whole  covered  with  turf;  so  that  a  jourt  has 
externally  the  appearance  of  a  low  round  hillock.  A  hole  is 
left  in  the  centre,  which  serves  for  chimney,  window,  and 
entrance,  and  the  inhabitants  pass  in  and  out  by  means  of  a 
strong  pole  (instead  of  a  ladder)  notched  deep  enough  to 


*  1.  c.  pp.  62,  285,  363. 

t  Ross,  Baffin's  Bay,  p.  122. 

X  Cook's  Voyages   to  the  Pacific 


Ocean,   vol.    iii.    p.    374. 
vol.  iii.  p.  450. 


See  also 


INTERIOR  OP  AN  ESQUIMAUX  HOUSE.         493 

afford  a  little  holding  for  the  toe,  as  in  fig.  141  (p.  132)." 
More  often,  however,  the  entrance  consisted  of  a  sunken 
passage,  as  in  fig.  141*  (p.  133)  or  fig.  143  (p.  158). 

As  a  general  rule  we  may  say  that  the  western  yourts  are 
subterranean,  while  those  of  the  tribes  who  live  east  of  the 
Kocky  Mountains  are  generally  above  ground.     The  manner 
in  which  the  Esquimaux  construct   their    snow  igloos    has 
been  well  described  by   Captain  Parry.      They  choose*  a 
drift   of  hard  and  compact   snow,  and  from  this  they  cut 
oblong  slabs,  six  or  seven  inches  thick  and  about  two  feet  in 
length.     With   these    they   build  a  circular  wall,  inclining 
inwards  so  as  to  form  a  dome,  which  is  sometimes  as  much 
as  nine  or  ten  feet  high  and  from  eight  to  fifteen  feet  in 
diameter.     A  small  door  is  then  cut  on  the  south  side.     It  is 
about  three  feet  high,  two  and  a  half  wide  at  the  bottom,  and 
leads  into  a  passage  about  ten  feet  long,  and  with  a  step  in 
^he  middle,  the  half  next  the  hut  being  lower  than  either 
the  floor  of  the  hut  or  the  outer  passage.     For  the  admission 
of  light  a  round  hole  is  cut  on  one  side  of  the  roof  and  a 
circular  plate  of  ice,  three  or  four  inches  thick  and  two  feet 
in  diameter,  is  let  into  it.     If  several  families  intend  to  Hve 
together,  other  chambers  are  constructed  which  open  into  the 
first,  and  then  after  a  quantity  of  snow  has  been  shovelled 
up  on  the  outside,  the  shell  of  the  building  is  regarded  as 
finished.     The  next  thing  is  to  raise  a  bank  of  snow  two  and 
a  half  feet  high  all  round  the  interior  of  the  building,  except 
on  the  side  next  the  door.     This  bank  forms  the  bed.     Over 
it  is  laid  some  gravel,  upon  that  again  paddles,  tent-poles, 
pieces  of  whalebone,  twigs  of  birch  and  of  andromeda,  etc., 
and  finally  a  number  of  deer-skins,  which  form  a  soft  and 
luxurious  couch.     They  have  no  fireplace,  properly  so  called, 
that  is  to  say,  no  hearth,  but  each  family  has  a  separate  lamp 

*  Parry,  1.  c.  p.  500. 


494  LAMPS.      ABSENCE    OP   CLEANLINESS. 

or  shallow  vessel  generally  made  of  lapis  ollaris,  in  whicli 
they  burn  seaFs-oil,  with  a  wick  made  of  dry  moss. 

Although  they  had  no  knowledge  of  pottery^  Captain  Cook 
saw  at  Unalashka  vessels  "  of  a  flat  stone,  with  sides  of  clay, 
not  unlike  a  standing  pye*."  We  here  obtain  an  idea  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  knowledge  of  pottery  may  have 
been  developed.  After  using  clay  to  raise  the  sides  of  their 
stone  vessels,  it  would  naturally  occur  to  them  that  the  same 
substance  would  serve  for  the  bottom  also,  and  thus  the  use 
of  stone  might  be  replaced  by  a  more  convenient  material. 

The  natives  of  the  Lower  Murray  cook  their  food  in  a 
hollow  in  the  ground,  which  they  line  with  clay,  and  in 
other  cases  gourds  and  wooden  vessels  are  coated  with  clay 
in  order  to  enable  them  to  stand  heat.  Thus  we  see  three 
ways  in  which  pottery  may  have  been  invented. 

The  snow-houses  melt  away  every  spring;  but  in  some 
places  the  Esquimaux  construct  their  dwellings  on  a  similar 
plan,  but  with  the  bones  of  whales  and  walruses  on  a  founda- 
tion of  stones,  and  with  a  covering  of  earth.  The  snow- 
houses  are  of  course  pretty  clean  at  first,  but  they  gradually 
become  very  filthy.  The  bone-huts  are  even  dirtier,  because 
more  durable.  "  In  every  direction  round  the  hiits,"  says 
Captain  Parry,  "  were  lying  innumerable  bones  of  walruses 
and  seals,  together  with  skulls  of  dogs,  bears,  and  foxes,  on 
many  of  which  a  part  of  the  putrid  flesh  still  remaining 
sent  forth  the  most  ofiensive  effluviaf.^'  He  even  observed 
a  number  of  human  bones  lying  about  among  the  rest  J. 
The  inside  of  the  huts,  "from  their  extreme  closeness  and 
accumulated  filth,  emitted  an  almost  insupportable  stench, 
to  which  an  abundant  supply  of  raw  and  half-putrid  walrus 
flesh  in  no  small  degree  contributed §." 

*  Cook's   Voyage   to   the   Pacific  X  See  also  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  236. 

Ocean,  vol.  ii.  p.  510.  §  Parry,  1.  c.  p.  358. 

t  Parry,  1.  c.  p.  280. 


STORES  OP   FOOD.  495 

On  the  north-western  coast  of  America  the  natives  find 
plenty  of  drift-wood,  and  the  floors  of  their  yourts  are,  ac- 
cording to  Belcher,  made  of  split  timber,  nicely  smoothed 
and  carefully  caulked  with  moss.  Underneath  is  often  a 
large  store-room,  for  in  summer  they  kill  many  reindeer, 
whales,  walrus,  seals,  swans,  ducks,  etc.,  the  greater  part  of 
which  are  laid  by  for  winter  use.  One  of  these  winter  stores 
is  thus  expressively,  though  somewhat  hastily,  described  by 
Sir  E.  Belcher*  :  "It  was  frozen  into  a  solid  mass  beneath, 
but  loose  from  those  on  the  surface,  and  seemed  to  be  in- 
corporated, by  some  unexplained  process,  into  a  gelatinous 
snow,  which  they  scraped  up  easily  with  the  hand  and  ate 
with  satisfaction — fish  oil  predominating.  It  was  not  offen- 
sive nor  putrid.  How  many  years  the  lower  mass  may  have 
remained  there  I  could  not  determine ;  but  estimating  the 
supply  in  one  yourt  as  proportioned  for  ten  people — the 
allowance  of  inhabitants  for  each  yourt — the  daily  propor- 
tion for  the  complete  store  would  allow  for  three  hundred 
days,  or  about  twenty-four  pounds  per  soul."  He  estimates 
the  quantity  of  solid  meat  in  this  storehouse  alone  at  71,424 
pounds.  Captain  Eoss  also  mentions f  the  large  stores  of 
food  laid  up  by  the  Esquimaux  of  Boothia  Felix  during  the 
summer  for  winter  use.  The  habit  does  not,  however,  appear 
to  be  general  among  the  Esquimaux,  though  they  all  of 
them  make  "  caches  "  of  meat  under  stone  cairns. 

Charlevoix  derives  the  name  Esquimaux  from  the  Indian 
word  Eslcimantsik,  which  means  "  eaters  of  raw  food ; ''  many 
of  these  northern  tribes*  being  in  the  habit  of  eating  their 
meat  uncooked.  We  must  in  justice  to  them  remember 
that  several  of  our  Arctic   Expeditions  have   adopted   the 


*  Trans.    Etlm.    Soc,  New    Ser.,  also  Hall's  Life  with  the  Esquimaux, 

vol.  i.  p.  132.  vol.  ii.  p.  311 ;  Kane's  Ai'ctic  Explo- 

t  Narrative  of  a  Second  Voyage,  rations,  vol.  ii.  p.  133. 
p.  251;  and  Appendix,   p.  21.     See 


496  COOKERY.       POOD. 

same  custom,  whicli  seems  indeed  in  tliose  latitudes  highly 
conducive  to  health*. 

Their  food  if  cooked  at  all  is  broiled  or  boiled.  Their 
vessels  being  of  stone  or  wood  cannot,  indeed,  be  put  on  the 
fire ;  but  heated  stones  are  thrown  in  until  the  water  becomes 
hot  enough,  and  the  food  is  cooked.  Of  course,  the  result  is 
a  mess  of  soot,  dirt,  and  ashes,  which  would,  according  to 
our  ideas,  be  almost  intolerable ;  but  if  the  stench  of  their 
houses  does  not  take  away  a  man^s  appetite,  nothing  else  would 
be  likely  to  do  so.  They  never  wash  their  pots  or  kettles  ; 
the  dogs  save  them  this  trouble.  Those  who  have  arrived  at 
a  dim  consciousness  of  their  dirtiness,  do  generally  but  make 
matters  worse,  for  if  they  wish  to  treat  a  guest  "  genteelly, 
they  first  lick  the  piece  of  meat  he  is  to  eat  clean  from  the 
blood  and  scum  it  has  contracted  in  the  kettle,  with  their 
tongue ;  and  should  any  one  not  kindly  accept  it,  he  would 
be  looked  upon  as  an  unmannerly  man  for  despising  their 
civility  t-^^  The  Esquimaux  observed  by  Dr.  Eae  at  Repulse 
Bay  were,  however,  much  cleaner  in  their  habits. 

Their  food  consists  principally  of  reindeer,  musk  ox,  walrus, 
seals,  birds,  and  salmon.  Tliey  will,  however,  eat  any  kind 
of  animal  food.  They  are  very  fond  of  fat  and  marrow, 
to  get  at  which  they  pound  the  bones  with  a  stone.  The 
southern  tribes  get  a  few  berries  in  summer,  but  those  who 
live  in  the  north  have  scarcely  any  vegetable  food  except 
that  which  they  obtain  in  a  half- digested  form  from  the 
stomach  of  the  reindeer,  and  this  they  regard  as  a  great 
delicacy  J ;  the  northernmost  of  all,  being  unable  to  kill 
reindeer,  are  entirely  deprived  of  vegetable  food. 

"  I  was  once  present  ^/'  says  Captain  Cook,  ''  when  the 
chief  of  Oonalashka  made  his  dinner  of  the  raw  head  of  a 

*  See,  for  instance,  Kane's  Arctic  J  Eoss,   Narrative    of   a    Second 

Explorations,  vol.  ii.  p.  14.  Voyage,  p.  352. 

t  Crantz,  p.  168;   Parry,  Second  §  Cook's   Third  Voyage,    vol.  ii. 

Voyage,  p.293  j  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  142.  p.  511. 


FOOD.  497 

large  halibut,  just  caught.  Before  any  was  given  to  the 
chief,  two  of  his  servants  eat  the  gills,  without  any  other 
dressing  besides  squeezing  out  the  slime.  This  done,  one  of 
them  cut  off  the  head  of  the  fish,  "took  it  to  the  sea  and 
washed  it,  then  came  with  it  and  sat  down  by  the  chief: 
first  pulling  up  some  grass,  upon  a  part  of  which  the  head 
was  laid,  and  the  rest  was  strewed  before  the  chief.  He 
then  cut  large  pieces  off  the  cheeks,  and  laid  these  within 
the  reach  of  the  great  man,  who  swallowed  them  with  as 
much  satisfaction  as  we  should  do  raw  oysters.  When  he 
had  done,  the  remains  of  the  head  were  cut  in  pieces,  and 
given  to  the  attendants,  who  tore  off  the  meat  with  their 
teeth,  and  gnawed  the  bones  like  so  many  dogs." 

Captain  Lyon  gives  an  even  more  disgusting  account 
of  an  Esquimaux  meal.  "  From  Kooilittuck*,''  he  says,  "  I 
learnt  a  new  Esquimaux  luxury :  he  had  eaten  till  he  was 
drunk,  and  every  moment  fell  asleep,  with  a  flushed  and 
burning  face,  and  his  mouth  open :  by  his  side  sat  Arnalooa 
(his  wife),  who  was  attending  her  cooking-pot,  and  at  short 
intervals  awakened  her  spouse,  in  order  to  cram  as  much  as 
was  possible  of  a  large  piece  of  half-l5oiled  flesh  into  his 
mouth  with  the  assistance  of  her  forefinger,  and  having 
filled  it  quite  full,  cut  off  the  morsel  close  to  his  lips.  This 
he  slowly  chewed,  and  as  soon  as  a  small  vacancy  became 
perceptible,  this  was  filled  again  by  a  lump  of  raw  blubber. 
During  this  operation  the  happy  man  moved  no  part  of  him 
but  his  jaws,  not  even  opening  his  eyes ;  but  his  extreme 
satisfaction  Was  occasionally  shown  by  a  most  expressive 
grunt,  whenever  he  enjoyed  sufiicient  room  for  the  passage 
of  sound.  The  drippings  of  the  savory  repast  had  so  plen- 
tifully covered  his  face  and  neck,  that  I  had  no  hesitation 
in  determining  that  a  man  may  look  more  like  a  beast  by 
over-eating  than  by  drinking  to  excess.     The  women  having 

*  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  181 ;  see  also  Eoss,  1.  c.  p.  448. 
34 


498  DIFFICULTY    OP   OBTAINING   WATER. 

fed  all  their  better  halves  to  sleep^  and  not  having  neglected 
themselves,  had  now  nothing  to  do  but  to  talk  and  beg  as 
usual. 

A  feast  among  some  of  the  more  civilized  Esquimaux  of 
Greenland  is  thus  described  by  Crantz*.  "A  factor  being 
invited  to  a  great  entertainment  with  several  topping  Green- 
landers,  counted  the  following  dishes:  1.  Dried  herrings. 
2.  Dried  seal's  flesh.  3.  Boiled  ditto.  4.  Half  raw  and 
rotten  ditto,  called  Mikiak.  5.  Boiled  willocks.  6.  A  piece 
of  a  half  rotten  whale's  tail :  this  was  the  dainty  dish 
or  haunch  of  venison  to  which  the  guests  were  properly 
invited.  7.  Dried  salmon.  8.  Dried  reindeer  venison. 
9.  A  -dessert  of  crowberries  mixed  with  the  chyle  out  of 
the  maw  of  a  reindeer.  10.  The  same,  enriched  with  train 
oil." 

Their  drink  consists  of  blood  or  water :  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  year  they  have  considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining 
sufficient  water  to  satisfy  their  thirst,  and  it  is  much  too  pre- 
cious to  be  used  for  washing.  It  may  seem  surprising  that 
people  who  are  surrounded  by  snow  and  ice  should  suffer 
from  want  of  water,*  but  the  amount  of  heat  required  to  melt 
snow  is  so  great,  that  a  man  without  the  means  of  obtaining 
fire  might  die  of  thirst  in  these  arctic  regions  as  easily  as  in 
the  sandy  deserts  of  Africa.  Any  direct  "  resort  to  snow," 
says  Kane,  ''  for  the  purpose  of  allaying  thirst,  was  followed 
by  bloody  lips  and  tongue  j  it  burnt  like  caustic f-"  When 
the  Esquimaux  visited  Captain  Parry,  they  were  always 
anxious  for  water,  which  they  drank  in  such  quantities  "that 
it  was  impossible  to  furnish  them  with  half  as  much  as  they 
desired  J."  In  the  extreme  north  one  of  the  principal  duties 
of  the  women  in  the  winter  is  to  thaw  snow  over  their  lamps, 
feeding  the  wick  with  oil^  if  it  does  not  rise  well  of  its  own 

*  History  of    Greenland,  vol.   i.  t  Arctic  Explorations,  vol.  i.  p.  12C. 

p.  172.  X  1.  c.  p.  188. 


I 


FIRE.  499 

accord* ;  the  natural  heat  of  the  room  is  not  sufficient  to 
melt  snow,  as  the  temperature  of  the  huts  is  always  kept,  if 
possible,  below  the  freezing-point.  In  South  Greenland, 
however,  the  huts  are  built  of  turf,  etc.,  and  are  very  warmf. 
But  we  must  remember  that  coolness,  rather  than  heat,  is 
required  by  the  Esquimaux  who  live  in  snow  dwellings, 
because  if  the  temperature  rises  to  thirty-two  degrees,  the 
continual  dripping  from  the  roof  produces  extreme  incon- 
venience, and,  in  fact,  the  most  unhealthy  season  is  the 
spring,  when  the  weather  is  too  warm  for  snow  huts,  and  too 
cold  for  tents.  Thus,  therefore,  the  Esquimaux,  though 
living  in  a  climate  so  extremely  rigorous,  would  be  debarred 
from  the  use  of  fires  by  the  very  nature  of  their  dwellings, 
even  if  they  were  able  to  obtain  the  necessary  materials. 
They  never,  says  Simpson, "  seem  to  think  of  fire  as  a  means 
of  imparting  warmth  J;"  their  lamps  are  used  for  cooking, 
for  light,  and  for  melting  snow  and  drying  clothes,  rather 
than  to  warm  the  air  §,,  and  as,  nevertheless,  the  body  tem- 
perature of  the  Esquimaux  is  almost  the  same  as  ours,  it  is 
evident  that  they  must  require  a  large  amount  of  animal  food. 
The  quantity  of  meat  which  they  consume  is  astonishing ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that,  from  the  scarcity  of  wood 
in  the  far  north,  they  use  the  same  substance  for  food  and 
fuel ;  the  calorific  material  being  the  same — namely,  blubber 
— whether  the  heat  is  to  be  obtained  by  digestion  or  com- 
bustion ;  whether  the  material  is  to  be  placed  in  a  lamp  and 
burnt,  or  to  be  eaten  and  digested.  In  summer,  however, 
when  it  is  less  necessary  to  keep  down  the  general  tempera- 
ture, they  sometimes  burn  bones  well  saturated  with  oil. 
For  obtaining  fire  the  Esquimaux  generally  use  lumps  of 
iron  pyrites  and  quartz,  from  which  they  strike  sparks  on  to 

*  Osbom'8  Arctic  Journal,  p.  17.  p.  346. 

t  E^edc,  1.  c.  p.  116.  §  Kane,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  202. 

J  Discoveries  in  North  America, 


500  IMPLEMENTS   AND   WEAPONS. 

moss  which  has  been  well  dried  and  rubbed  between  the 
hands*.  They  are  also  acquainted  with  the  method  of 
obtaining  it  by  friction  f,  which  is  a  slower  and  more  labo- 
rious process.  It  appears,  however^  to  be  the  one  generally 
pursued  by  the  Greenland  Esquimaux  |. 

It  has  been  generally  assumed  that  man  could  scarcely 
live  in  temperate  climates,  and  certainly  not  in  the  arctic 
regions_,  without  the  advantage  of  fire.  From  the  above 
facts,  however,  as  well  as  from  others  which  will  presently 
be  recorded,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  this  is  really  the 
case.  Esquimaux  do  not  use  fire  to  warm  their  dwellings, 
and  cookery  is  with  them  a  refinement.  In  fact,  those  Esqui- 
maux who  live  on  reindeer,  more  than  on  seal,  having  little 
blubber,  make  hardly  any  use  of  fire. 

In  the  South  the  men  have  bows  and  arrows,  harpoons, 
spears,  lines,  fish-hooks,  knives,  snow-knives,  ice-chisels, 
snow-shovels,  groovers,  drill-bows,  drills,  etc.  The  women 
have  lamps  and  stone-kettles,  lamp  moss,  pieces  of  iron- 
pyrites,  bone-needles,  pieces  of  sinew,  scrapers  (figs.  105-107), 
horn  spoons,  sealskin  vessels,  pointed  bones,  marrow-spoons, 
and  knives  (figs.  214-216).  They  have  generally  also,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Rae,  a  small  piece  of  stone,  bone,  or  ivory, 
about  six  inches  long  and  half  an  inch  thick ;  this  is  used 
for  arranging  the  wicks  of  the  lamps. 

Kane  gives  the  following  inventory  of  an  Esquimaux  hut 
visited  by  him ;  a  sealskin  cup,  for  gathering  and  holding 
water ;  the  shoulder-blade  of  a  walrus,  to  serve  as  a  lamp ;  a 
large  flat  stone  to  support  it ;  another  large,  thin,  flat  stone 
to  support  the  melting  snow ;  a  lance-head,  with  a  long  coil 
of  walrus  line ;  d  stand  for  clothes ;  and  the  clothes  them- 
selves completed  the  whole  worldly  goods  of  this  poor  family  §. 

*  Kane,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  379 ;  Parry,  J  Egede,  1.  c.  p.  138. 

L  c.  p.  504 ;  Eoss,  1.  c.  p.  513.  §  Kane's  Arctic  Explorations,  vol. 

t  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  290.  i.  p.  381. 


IMPLEMENTS   AND   WEAPONS. 


501 


On  their  travelling  expeditions  even  less  than  this  is  neces- 
sary ;  raw  meat  and  a  fur  bag  are  all  that  they  require. 

Fig.  214. 


Fie.  215. 


The  implements  of  the  Esquimaux  are  very  ingenious. 
Besides  knives  resembling  those  figured  above,  the  women 
use  others  of  a  semicircular  form,  and  very  similar  to  the 
curious  semilunar  knives  (pi.  1.,  fig.  3)  which  are  so  com- 
mon in  Denmark.  They  are,  however,  now  made  of  metal, 
which  the  Southern  Esquimaux  have  been  enabled  to  obtain, 
though  in  small  quantities,  from  the  Europeans.  Some 
few  of  them  also   break  off  bits  of  meteoric   iron,  which 


502 


HUNTING. 


Fig.  217. 


they  hammer  to  an  edge^  and  then  jBx  in  a  handle  of 
horn  or  bone.  The  arrow-heads  are  of  several  kinds  and 
shapes.  Those  of  stone  (fig.  »217)  are  made^  not  by  blows, 
but  by  pressure,  for  which  purpose  they  use  the  point 
of  reindeer's  horn,  set  in  bone ;  bone  itself  would  not 
be  tough  enough.  Other  arrow-heads  are  of  horn;  these 
often  bear  "  owners'  marks "  as  may  be  seen  by  fig.  2 
(p.  10).  The  shafts  of  the  arrows  are  short, 
•straightened  by  steam,  and  provided  with 
feathers  at  the  butt  end.  These  are  fastened 
on  by  deer  sinews.  The  bows  are  generally 
of  wood,  either  made  of  one  piece  steamed 
into  the  right  form,  or  of  three  parts  most  in- 
geniously fastened  together,  and  strengthened 
by  pieces  of  bone  or  sinew.  When  wood  can- 
not be  obtained,  they  use  bone  or  horn. 
They  do  not  appear  to  be  particularly  good 
shots  :  but  Captain  Parry*  thinks  that  they  would  generally 
hit  a  deer  from  forty  to  forty-five  yards,  if  the  animal 
stood  still f.  Moreover  against  large  game  they  are,  after 
all,  not  very  effective.  Sir  J.  C.  Eoss  gives  an  interesting 
account  of  a  musk-sheep  hunt  which  he  witnessed.  At 
length  becoming  impatient,  as  the  Esquimaux  ^'continued 
to  shoot  without  apparent  effect,  finding  his  opportunities 
for  an  aim  with  much  difficulty,  and  losing  much  time  after- 
wards in  recovering  his  arrows,  Sir  James  fired,  and  broke 
the  animal's  shoulder-blade,  to  the  immense  astonishment  of 
his  companion  J." 

The  spears  are  made  like  the  arrows,  but  are  larger ;  the 
heads  also  are  frequently  barbed,  and  in  many  cases  fit  loosely 


*  1.  c.  p.  511. 

+  The  Esquimaux  of  Greenland 
have  long  abandoned  the  bow  and 
arrow,  using  guns  obtained  from  the 
Danes.     In  many  other  respects  also 


their  ancient  habits  have  been  modi- 
fied, and  their  condition  greatly  im- 
proved, by  this  intercourse. 

X  Sir  J.  Ross'  Arctic  Expedition. 
1829-33,  p.  350, 


MODES    OF    HUNTING   AND    FISHINa. 


503 


into  the  shaft,  but  are  securely  fastened  to  a  long  loatliera 
thong,  which  is  tied  to  the  butt  end  of  the 
spear.  For  throwing  the  harpoon  they  use  a 
short  handle  or  throwing  stick,  about  two  feet 
long,  narrow  below,  four  inches  wide  above, 
and  with  a  notch  on  each  side  for  the  thumb 
and  forefinger.  With  these  weapons  they 
attack  not  only  seals  and  walruses,  but  even 
whales.  They  strike  the  whale,  if  possible, 
at  the  same  time  with  many  harpoons,  "  to 
which  bladders  are  hung,  made  of  great  seal- 
skins, several  of  which  so  encumber  and  stop 
the  whale,  that  it  cannot  sink  deep.  When 
he  is  tired  out,  they  despatch  him  quite  with 
their  little  lances."  Kane  gives  the  figure  of 
a  lance,  the  blade  of  which  closely  resembles 
one  of  the  longer  "  axes"  from  the  Danish- 
shell-mounds*. 

The  Esquimaux  have  three  principal  ways 
of  killing  seals.  The  commonest  is  with  the 
harpoon  and  bladder.  When  an  Esquimaux 
in  his  kayak  "  spies  a  seal,  he  tries  to  sur- 
prise it  unawares  with  the  wind  and  sun  in 
his  back,  that  he  may  not  be  heard  or  seen 
by  it.  He  tries  to  conceal  himself  behind 
a  wave,  and  makes  hastily  but  softly  up  to  it  till  he 
comes  within  four,  five,  or  six  fathoms  of  it;  meanwhile 
he  takes  the  utmost  care  that  the  harpoon,  line,  and  bladder 
lie  in  proper  orderf."  As  soon  as  the  seal  is  struck  the 
point  of  the  spear  detaches  itself  from  the  .shaft,  and  at 
the  same  moment  the  Esquimaux  throws  the  largo  air 
bladder  on  to  the  water.  This  is  often  draersTcd  under 
water  a  little  way,  but  it  is  so  great  an  impediment,  that 

•  Arctic  Explorations,  vol.  ii.  p.  129.  f  Crantz,  p.  154. 


Spear-liGRd. 


604  MODES    OP    HUNTING   AND    FISHING. 

the  seal  is  soon  obliged  to  come  up.  "The  Greenlander 
hastens  to  the  spot  where  he  sees  the  bladder  rise  up,  and 
smites  the  seal  as  soon  as  it  appears  ^^  with  the  great  lance, 
or  "  angovigak."  This  is  not  barbed,  and  does  not  there- 
fore remain  in  the  seal's  body,  but  can  be  used  again  and 

Fig.  219. 


Bone  Harpoon. 

again  until  the  animal  is  exhausted.  The  second  way  is  the 
"  clapper-hunt.^'  If  the  Esquimaux  find,  or  can  drive  any 
seals  into  the  creeks  or  inlets,  they  frighten  them  by  shout- 
ing, clapping,  and  throwing  stones  every  time  they  come  up 
to  breathe,  until  at  last  they  are  exhausted  and  easily  killed. 
In  winter,  when  the  sea  is  frozen,  the  seals,  which  are  obhged 
to  come  up  from  time  to  time  for  the  sake  of  air,  keep  open 
certain  breathing-holes  for  this  purpose,  and  the  Esquimaux, 
when  he  has  found  one  of  these,  waits  patiently  till  the  seal  makes 
its  appearance,  when  he  kills  it  instantly  with  his  harpoon. 

The  Esquimaux  are  excellent  deerstalkers,  and  are  much 
assisted  by  the  skill  with  which  they  can  imitate  the  cry  of 
the  reindeer.  Fish  are  caught  sometimes  with  the  hook  and 
line,  sometimes  by  means  of  small  nets  when  they  come 
to  the  shore  in  shoals  to  spawn,  or  finally  with  the  spear. 
The  nets  are  made  of  "  small  hoops  or  rings  of  whalebone, 
firmly  lashed  together  with  rings  of  the  same  material*." 
The  fishing-lines  also  are  made  of  whalebone  f.  Salmon  are 
sometimes  so  abundant,  that  in  Boothia  Felix,  Captain  Eoss 
bought  a  ton  weight  for  a  single  knife.  For  killing  birds 
they  use  an  instrument  in  s6me  respects  like  the  "  bolas''  of 
South  America :  a  number  of  stones  or  walrus  teeth  being 
fastened  to  short  pieces  of  string,  and  all  the  strings  then 

*  PaiTy,  1.  c.  p.  100.  t  Egede,  1.  c.  p.  107. 


PLEDGES.  505 

tied  togetlier  at  the  other  end*.  The  spears^  which  are  in- 
tended to  be  thrown  at  birds  or  other  small  animals,  have  a 
double  fork  at  the  extremity,  and  three  other  barbed  points 
near  the  middle.  These  diverge  in  different  directions,  so 
that  if  the  end  pair  should  miss,  one  of  the  central  trio  might 
strike  the  victim.  Aquatic  birds  are  also  caught  in  whale- 
bone nooses ;  but  "  the  moulting  season  is  the  great  bii'd- 
harvest,  as  a  few  persons  wading  into  the  shallow  lakes,  can 
soon  tire  out  and  catch  the  birds  by  handf." 

The  so-called  "  Arctic  Highlanders,"  however,  are  said  to 
have  no  means  of  killing  the  reindeer,  though  it  abounds  in 
their  country ;  nor  have  they  the  art  of  fishing,  although, 
curiously  enough,  they  catch  large  numbers  of  birds  in  small 
hand-nets.  Seals,  bears,  walrus,  and  birds  constitute  almost 
the  whole  of  their  diet|.  Neither  the  American  nor  Green- 
land Esquimaux  have  succeeded  in  taming  the  reindeer. 
Dogs  arc  their  only  domestic  animals,  and  are  sometimes 
used  in  hunting,  but  principally  to  draw  the  sledges. 

The  sledges  vary  much  both  in  materials  and  form  :  ac- 
cording to  Captain  Lyon  the  best  are  made  of  the  jaw-bones 
of  the  whale,  sawn  to  about  two  inches  in  thickness,  and 
from  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  depth.  These  are  the  runners, 
and  are  shod  with  a  thin  plank  of  the  same  material.  The 
sides  are  connected  by  pieces  of  bone,  horn,  or  wood,  firmly 
lashed  together.  In  Boothia,  Captain  Ross  saw  sledges  in 
which  the  runners  were  made  of  salmon,  packed  into  a 
cylinder,  rolled  up  in  skins,  and  frozen  together.  In  spring 
the  skins  ai'e  made  into  bags,  and  the  fish  are  eaten  §. 
Altogether  these  sledges  are  well  constructed,  when  it  is 
considered  with  what  simple  tools  they  are  made. 

The  dogs  by  which   these  sledges  are  drawn  are  by  no 

'^'  Simpson,  1.  c.  p.  156.  Arctic  Expedition, vol. ii.  p.25  ;  Simp- 

'I*  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  338.  Ron's  Discoveries  in  North  America, 

X  Kane, Arctic  ExpIorations,vol.  ii.  p.  317;  Ross,  1.  c.  p.  585. 
pp.  208,  210.     See  also  Eichardson's  §  1.  c.  Appendix,  p.  24. 


506  BOATS. 

means  easy  to  manage.  Each  lias  a  separate  trace  attacLed 
to  tlie  front  of  the  sledge^  passing  between  the  legs,  and 
fastened  in  front  to  a  collar.  The  dogs  therefore  are  nearly 
abreastj  and  the  traces  are  very  liable  to  become  entangled. 
The  team  is  guided  by  throwing  the  lash  of  the  whip  on  one 
side  or  the  other^  and  repeating  certain  words.  '^  Wooa," 
as  among  our  carters^  means  "  Stop*.'^ 

Their  boats  also  are  very  ingeniously  built,  and  are  of  two 
kinds,  the  kajak  or  men^s  boat,  and  the  umiak  or  women's 
boat.  The  kajak  is  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  long, 
eighteen  inches  broad  in  the  middle,  tapering  to  both  ends, 
and  scarcely  a  foot  deep.  It  has  no  outriggers,  and  is  there- 
fore very  difficult  to  sit.  It  is  quite  covered  over  at  the  top, 
with  the  exception  of  a  hole  in  the  middle,  into  which  the 
Esquimaux  puts  his  legs.  The  boat  therefore  cannot  fill 
with  water,  and  even  if  it  ups^s,  they  can  right  it  again  by 
a  sudden  jerk  of  the  oar,  or  rather  paddle.  Indeed,  a  skilful 
Esquimaux  will  turn  somersaults  in  the  water,  in  his  boat 
with  great  ease.  In  spite  of  this  they  are  frequently 
drowned;  and  indeed  so  dangerous  is  the  navigation  that 
they  generally  go  in  pairs,  so  as  to  assist  one  another  on  an 
emergency,  for  the  skin  sides  of  the  kajak  are  very  thin,  and, 
if  they  come  in  contact  with  any  of  the  floating  ice  or  drift- 
timber  which  abound  in  the  Greenland  seas,  are  liable  to  be 
torn  open,  in  which  case  the  unfortunate  Esquimaux  has 
little  chance  of  saving  himself.  The  umiak  is  much  larger, 
and  has  a  flat  bottom.  It  is  made  of  slender  laths,  fastened 
together  with  whalebone,  and  covered  over  with  sealskins. 
The  Esquimaux  observed  by  Ross,  at  the  northern  end  of 
Baffin's  Bay,  were  entirely  without  canoes,  and  were  "  igno- 
rant, even  traditionally,  of  the  existence  of  a  boatf ."  It 
is,  as  he  justly  observes,  an  extraordinary  thing  to  find  "  a 

*  Parry's  Three  Voyages  for  the  Discovery  of  a  N.W.  Passage,  vol.  iv.  p.  310, 
t  Ross,  Baffin's  Bay,  p.  170. 


SCRAPERS.      CLOTHES.  507 

maritime  and  a  fishing  tribe  unacquainted  with  any  means 
of  floating  on  the  water ;"  but  we  must  remember  that  they 
had  no  wood,  and  that  there  were  only  a  few  weeks  in  the 
year  when  the  sea  was  unfrozen.  No  wonder  that  Ross's 
ships  were  mistaken  for  living  creatures*,  and  that  his  boats 
excited  the  most  unbounded  astonishment  and  admiration. 
Kane  alsof  confirms  the  absence  of  boats,  but  he  adds  "  that 
the  kayack  was  known  to  them  traditionally." 

In  the  preparation  of  skins  the  Esquimaux  use  certain 
stone  instruments  (figs.  105-107),  which  have  frequently 
been  overlooked  on  account  of  their  simplicity,  but  which 
yet  are  interesting  because  they  are  exactly  similar  to  cer- 
tain ancient  implements  which  are  very  common  in  various 
parts  of  Europe,  and  have  been  already  described  in  page  92. 
The  collection  made  by  my  lamented  friend,  Mr.  Christy, 
contains  four  of  these  skin-scrapers,  three  of  which  were 
obtained  from  the  Esquimaux  north  of  Behring's  Straits. 
These  are  set  in  fossil  ivory.  The  fourth  was  found  in  a 
Greenland  grave,  probably  not  older  than  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, and  belonging  to  the  Stone  period  which  supervened 
when  the  intercourse  with  Norway  was  suspended.  Some 
archaeologists  had  considered  that  the  ^^ scrapers''  were 
'^  probably  knives,  the  prolonged  thick  ends  of  which  were 
intended  for  handles,  to  be  held  between  the  finger  and 
thumb,  or  possibly  for  attachment  to  a  short  wooden  shaft  J." 
The  true  nature  and  use  of  the  ancient  skin-scrapers  has, 
however,  been  entirely  explained  by  these  modern  specimens, 
w\th  which  they  are  absolutely  identical.  The  method  of 
preparing  skins  is  curious  and  ingenious,  but  very  disgusting. 
The  clothes  of  the  Esquimaux  are  made  from  the  skins 
of  reindeer,  seals,  and  birds,  sewn  together  with  sinews. 
For  needles  they  use  bones  either  of  birds  or  fishes ;  yet 

*  1.  c.  p.  118.  +  Kane,  Arctic  Explorations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  135,  210. 

X  See  Arcliajologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  115. 


i08 


ORNAMENTS.       CHEEK-STUDS. 


with  these  simple  instruments  they  sew  very  strongly  and 
well.  The  outer  dress  of  the  men  resembles  a  short  great- 
coat, with  a  hood  that  can  be  pulled  over  the  head  if  neces- 
sary, and  which  serves  as  a  substitute  for  a  hat  or  cap. 
Their  under- garments  or  shirts  are  made  of  bird-skins,  with 
the  feathers  inwards,  or  of  skins  with  the  hair  inside ;  some- 
times, however,  they  wear  in  addition  another  shirt  made  of 
seal's  entrails.  Their  breeches,  "  of  which  in  winter  they 
also  wear  two  pair,  and  similarly  disposed  as  to  the  fur*,'' 
are  either  of  seal-skin  or  reindeer-skin,  and  their  stockings 
of  skins  from  very  young  animals.  The  boots  are  of  smooth 
black  dressed  seal's  leather,  and  sometimes  when  at  sea 
they  wear  a  great  overcoat  of  the  same  material.  Their 
clothes  are  generally  very  greasy  and  dirty,  and  swarm  with 
lice.  The  dress  of  the  women  does  not  differ  much  from 
that  of  the  men. 

Their  principal  ornaments  are  cheek- studs  (fig.  220),  or 
pieces  of  polished  stone  or  bone,  which  are  worn  in  the  lower 
lip  or  cheeks.    The  hole  is  made  in  early  fig.  220. 

infancy,  and  gradually  enlarged  by  a 
series  of  "  guides  f-^^  These  '^labrets," 
however,  are  not  worn  by  the  Eastern 
tribes.  According  to  Richardson  they 
are  in  use  from  Behring's  Straits  to  the  Esquimaux  cheek-stud. 
Mackenzie  River  J.  The  other  ornaments  consist  of  strips 
of  variously  coloured  fur,  and  fringes  of  pierced  teeth,  gene- 
rally those  of  the  fox  or  wolf.  Among  the  Esquimaux 
visited  by  Captain  Lyon,  the  ornaments  were  all  appropriated 
by  the  men§.  Some  of  the  families  are  in  the  habit  of 
tattooing  themselves. 


*  Parry,  1.  c.  p.  495. 

t  Vancouver's  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p. 
280;  see  also  p.  408 ;  Belcher,  1.  c.  p. 
141. 


X  Arctic    Expedition,    vol.    L    p. 
355. 

§  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  314. 


MUSIC.       DRAWINGS.  509 

The  men  hunt  and  fish.  They  make  the  weapons  and 
implements,  and  prepare  the  woodwork  of  the  boats. 
The  women*  are  the  cooks,  prepare  the  skins,  and  make 
the  clothes.  They  also  repair  the  houses,  tents,  and  boats, 
the  men  doing  only  carpenter's  work.  Though  they  do 
not  appear  to  be  very  harshly  treated,  still  the  women 
have  certainly  "  a  hard  and  almost  slavish  life  of  it," 
although  perhaps  after  all  not  more  so  than  the  men. 

The  Esquimaux  arc  not  altogether  without  music.  They 
have  a  kind  of  drum,  and  sing  both  alone  and  in  chorus. 
They  are  acquainted  with  several  kinds  of  games  f,  both  of 
strength  and  skill,  and  are  fond  of  dances,  which  are  often 
very  indecent.  One  of  their  games  resembled  our  cat's 
cradle  I,  and  Kane  saw  the  children  in  Smith's  Sound  play- 
ing hockey  on  the  ice.  The*  Esquimaux  have  also  a  great 
natural  ability  for  drawiug.  In  many  cases  they  have  made 
rude  maps  for  our  officers,  which  have  turned  out  to  be 
substantially  correct.  Many  of  their  bone  implements  are 
covered  with  sketches.  Figs.  221  to  223  represent  three 
bone  drill-bows  presented  to  the  Ashmolean  Museum  by 
Captain  Beechey,  and  which  I  presume  to  be  some  of  those 
which  he  obtained  in  Hotham  Inlet,  Kotzebue  Sound,  and 
described  in  his  voyage  to  the  Pacific.  In  fig.  223  we  see 
yourts,  or  winter-houses,  in  two  cases,  with  dogs  standing  on 
them.  Men  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  others 
dragging  seals  home  over  the  ice,  and  one  man  about  to 
spear  a  reindeer  with  a  movable-headed  harpoon.  In  fig. 
222  are  reindeer,  geese,  a  baidar,  or  flat-bottomed  boat,  a 
tent,  round  which  various  articles  of  clothing  are  hung  u]) 
to  dry,  a  woman,  apjoarently  engaged  in  the  preparation  of 
food,  and  a  hunting-scene.  A  decoy,  roughly  representing 
the  head  and  antlers  of  a  reindeer,  has  been  put  up,  and  a 

*  Crantz,  p.  164.  t  Egede,  1.  c.  p.  162. 

X  Hall,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  316. 


510 


DRAWINGS. 

Fig.  222. 


Fig.  223. 


Pig.  221 


RELIGION.       MODES    OF    BURIAL.  51  1 

real  reindeer,  while  unsuspiciously  browsing  close  by,  is 
about  to  be  shot  by  an  Esquimaux  hunter.  In  fig.  221  are 
represented  two  animals,  apparently  intended  for  crocodiles ; 
the  draughtsman  must,  I  think,  have  seen  drawings  of  this 
animal  in  some  European  vessel. 

According  to  Crantz,  the  Greenland  Esquimaux  ^^have 
neither  a  religious  nor  idolatrous  worship,  nor  so  much  as 
any  ceremonies  to  be  perceived  tending  towards  it*."  This 
statement  has  been  confirmed  by  many  other  observers  f. 
Their  burial  ceremonies  have,  however,  been  supposed  to 
indicate  a  belief  in  the  resurrection.  They  generally  bend 
the  body  into  a  sitting  posture,  bringing  the  knees  up  under 
the  chin,  and  then  wrap  the  corpse  in  one  of  their  best  skins. 
For  the  grave  they  choose  some  high  place,  and  over  the 
corpse  they  make  a  heap  of  stones.  Near  the  body  some 
of  them  place  the  implements  of  the  deceased,  and  even 
sometimes,  if  he  was  a  man,  his  kajak;  believing,  as  it  has 
been  said,  that  they  will  be  of  use  to  him  in  the  new  world. 
EgedeJ,  however,  expressly  denies  that  it  is  done  with  any 
such  idea.  This  view  is  also  confirmed  by  Hall,  according 
to  whom  the  Esquimaux  have  a  superstitious  objection  to 
use,  or  even  touch,  any  thing  which  has  been  in  a  house 
containing  a  dead  body  §.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  same  idea  which 
induces  them  to  remove  a  corpse,  not  through  the  ordi- 
nary entrance,  but  by  way  of  the  window  ||.  In  other 
cases,  when  a  person  is  evidently  dying,  they  place  by  him 
every  thing  which  can  soothe  and  comfort  his  last  moment?^ 
and  then  leave  the  igloo,  or  house,  which  they  close  up,  thus 
converting  it  into  a  tomb^.     Crantz  tells  us  that  they  "lay 

*  1.  c.  p.  197.  Egede,  I.  c.  p.  183. 

t  Graah's   Voyage  to   Greenland,  X  ^-  c  p.  151. 

p.  123;    Ross,    Baffin's   Bay,  vol.  i.  §  1.  c.  voL  i.  p.  201;  vol.  ii.  p.  221. 

p.  175  ;  Voyage  of  Discovery,  p.  128 ;  ||  Graah,  1.  c.  p.  128 ;  Ross,  Arctic 

Parry,    1.    c.    p.    551  ;    Richardson's  Expedition,  1829-33,  p.  290. 

Arctic    Expedition,  vol.    ii.    p.    4-4;  •[[  Graah,  1.  c.  p.  126. 


512  THINGS    BUEIED    WITH   THE    DEAD. 

a  dog's  head  by  the  grave  of  a  child,  for  the  soul  of  a  dog 
can  find  its  way  every  where,  and  will  show  the  ignorant  babe 
the  way  to  the  land  of  souls/'  and  this  is  admitted  by  Egede. 
Moreover,  the  custom  of  occasionally  burying  models  of  im- 
plements, instead  of  the  implements  themselves,  tends  to  the 
same  conclusion. 

Captain  Cook  saw  burial  mounds  of  earth  or  stone  at 
Oonalashka.  One  of  the  latter  was  near  the  village,  and 
he  obsei'ved  that,  in  accordance  with  a  custom  which  seems 
to  prevail  all  over  the  world,  every  one  who  passed  threw  a 
stone  on  it*.  Infants,  if  unfortunate  enough  to  lose  their 
mothers,  are  always  buried  with  them ;  and  sickly  aged  peo- 
ple are  sometimes  buried  alive,  as  it  is  considered  a  kindness 
to  spare  them  the  pain  of  a  lingering  death.  The  Esqui- 
maux observed  by  Captain  Parry  had  a  superstitious  idea 
that  any  weight  pressing  upon  the  corpse  would  give  pain  to 
the  deceased  f-  Such  a  belief  would  naturally  give  ris'e,  in 
a  more  favoured  country,  to  vaulted  tumuli ;  but  in  the 
extreme  north,  the  only  result  is  that  the  dead  bodies  are 
but  slightly  covered  up,  in  consequence  of  which  the  foxes 
and  dogs  frequently  dig  them  up  and  eat  them.  This  the 
natives  regard  with  the  utmost  indifference ;  they  leave  the 
human  bones  lying  about  near  the  huts,  among  those  of 
animals  which  have  served  for  food;  another  reason  for 
doubting  whether  their  burial  customs  can  be  regarded  as 
satisfactory  evidence  of  any  very  definite  and  general  belief 
in  a  resurrection,  or  whether  the  objects  which  they  bury 
with  their  friends  are  really  supposed  to  be  of  actual  use 
to  them.  On  the  whole,  the  burial  customs  of  the  Esqui- 
maux are  curiously  like  those  of  which  r/e  find  evidence  in 
the  ancient  tumuli  of  northern  and  western  Europe. 

In  character  the  Esquimaux  are  a  quiet,  peaceable  people. 
Those  observed  by  Eoss  in  Baffin's  Bay,  "  could  not  be  made 
*  Yoyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  vol.  ii.  p.  519.  f  !•  c  pp.  395, 417,  550. 


CHARACTER.  513 

to  understand  what  was  meant  by  war,  nor  had  they  any 
warlike  weapons*."  Like  other  savages  they  resemble 
children  in  a  great  many  respects.  They  are  such  bad 
arithmeticians  that  the  "enumeration  of  ten  is  a  labour, 
and  of  fifteen  an  impossibility  with  many  of  themf."  Dr. 
Rae,  whose  partiality  for  the  Esquimaux  is  well  known, 
assures  us  that  if  a  man  is  asked  the  number  of  his  children, 
he  is  generally  much  puzzled.  After  counting  some  time 
on  his  fingers,  he  will  probably  consult  his  wife,  and  the  two 
often  differ,  even  though  they  may  not  have  more  than  four 
or  five  J. 

Amongst  the  Esquimaux  both  polygamy  and  polyandry 
appear  to  occur.  A  strong  or  skilful  man  has  often  more 
than  one  wife,  a  beautiful  or  clever  woman  in  some  cases 
more  than  one  husband  §.  Again,  the  temporary  loan  of  a 
wife  is  considered  a  mark  of  peculiar  friendship ;  in  which, 
however,  the  advantage  is  not  all  on  one  side,  as  a  large 
family,  far  from  being  any  incumbrance,  is  among  the  Esqui- 
maux a  great  advantage  ||.  Apart,  moreover,  from  these 
recognized  customs,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  Esquimaux 
set  any  very  high  value  on  the  virtue  of  chastity. 

They  are  excessively  dirty.  Considering  the  difficulty  in 
obtaining  enough  water  even  to  drink  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  year,  we  cannot,  perhaps,  wonder  that  they  never 
dream  of  washing.  Their  word  for  dirt,  eherk,  conveys  no 
idea  of  any  thing  disagreeable  or  oSensive^;  but,  in  justice 
to  them,  we  must  remember  that  the  extreme  cold,  by  pre- 
venting putrefaction,  removes  one  of  our  principal  induce- 
ments to  cleanliness,  and  at  the  same  time  induces  so  great 
a  scarcity  of  liquid  water,  as  to  render  washing  almost  an 
impossibility. 

»  1.  c.  p.  186.  §  Ross,  1.  c.  p.  273. 

t  Parry,  1.  c.  p.  251.  ||  Ross,  1.  c.  p.  515. 

X  Soc   for  a  curious  instance  of  ^  Kane,  Arctic  Explorations,  vol. 

this,  Graah,  1.  c.  p.  131.  ii.  p.  116. 

85 


514  CHARACTER. 

As  a  general  rule  it  is  impossible  to  put  any  dependence 
on  their  promises^  not  so  much  that  they  are  intentionally 
deceitful^  as  on  account  of  the  wavering  and  inconstant  dis- 
position wl^ch  they  possess  in  common  with  so  many  other 
savages.  Among  themselves  a  successful  huntsman  or  fisher- 
man is  always  ready  to  share  his  seal  or  walrus  with  his  less 
fortunate  neighbours ;  but  he  expects^  as  a  matter  of  course, 
that  a  sufficient  return  will  be  made  to  him  when  an  oppor- 
tunity occurs.  They  give  away  nothing  themselves  without 
expecting  to  receive  as  much  again,  and,  being  unable  to 
imagine  any  other  line  of  conduct,  are  naturally  very  de- 
ficient in  gratitude.  Captain  Eoss,  however,  and  Dr.  Eae 
consider  that  the  Esquimaux  encountered  by  them  were 
neither  ungrateful  nor  particularly  selfish.  In  other  respects 
also  these  appear  to  have  been  very  favourable  specimens  of 
the  race.  Though  not  cruel,  the  Esquimaux  seem  to  be  a 
somewhat  heartless  people.  They  do  not,  indeed,  feel  any 
actual  pleasure  in  the  infliction  of  pain,  but  they  will  take 
little  trouble  to  remove  or  relieve  suffering.  They  are  also 
great  thieves,  but,  as  Captain  Parry  truly  observes  *,  we 
must  ^^make  due  allowance  for  the  degree  of  temptation 
to  which  they  were  daily  exposed,  amidst  the  boundless 
stores  of  wealth  which  our  ships  appeared  to  them  to 
furnish."  According  to  Hall  f,  moreover,  they  are  strictly 
honest  among  themselves,  kind,  generous,  and  trustworthy. 

Parry  thus  describes  them  :  "  In  the  few  opportunities  we 
had  of  putting  their  hospitality  to  the  test  we  had  every 
reason  to  be  pleased  with  them.  Both  as  to  food  and  ac- 
commodation the  best  they  had  were  always  at  our  service ; 
and  their  attention,  both  in  kind  and  degree,  was  every  thing 
that  hospitality  and  even  good  breeding  could  dictate.  The 
kindly  offices  of  drying  and  mending  our  clothes,  cooking 
our  provisions,  and  thawing  snow  for  our  drink,  were  per- 

*  1.  c.  p.  522.  t  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  312. 


NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS.  515 

formed  by  the  women  with  an  obliging  cheerfulness  which 
we  shall  not  easily  forget,  and  which  commanded  its  due 
share  of  our  admiration  and  esteem.  While  thus  their  guest, 
I  have  passed  an  evening  not  only  with  comfort,  but  with 
extreme  gratification ;  for,  with  the  women  working  and 
singing,  their  husbands  quietly  mending  their  lines,  the 
children  playing  before  the  ddor,  and  the  pot  boiling  over 
the  blaze  of  a  cheerful  lamp,  one  might  well  forget  for  the 
time  that  an  Esquimaux  hut  was  the  scene  of  this  domestic 
comfort  and  tranquillity ;  and  I  can  safely  affirm  with  Cart- 
wright  that,  while  thus  lodged  beneath  their  roof,  I  know 
no  people  whom  I  would  more  confidently  trust,  as  respects 
either  my  person  or  my  property,  than  the  Esquimaux*/^ 

Dr.  Rae  also  has  a  very  high  opinion  of  them,  and  they 
seem  from  all  accounts  to  present  the  remarkable  pheno- 
menon of  a  really  high  state  of  morality,  without  any  thing 
which  can  be  called  rehgion. 

The  North  American  Indians. 

The  aboriginal,  or  at  least  the  Pre-Columbian  inhabitants 
of  North  America,  fall  naturally  into  three  divisions.  The 
Esquimaux  in  the  extreme  north,  the  Indian  tribes  in  the 
centre,  and  the  comparatively  civilized  Mexicans  in  the 
south.  The  central  tribes,  which  occupied  by  far  the  greater 
extent  of  the  continent,  were  again  divided  by  the  Rocky 
Mountains  into  two  great  groups ;  that  on  the  western  side 
being  in  much  the  most  abject  condition.  Though  no  doubt 
there  was  and  is  an  immense  difference  between  different 
tribes — and  particularly  between  the  semi-agricultural  na- 
tions of  the  west,  and  the  filthy  barbarians  of  Northern 
California — still  as  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 

*  Parry's  Three  Voyages  for  the  Discovery  of  a  North-west  Passage,  vol.  v. 
p.  13. 


516  DKESS.       ORNAMENTS. 

for  an  excellent  work  on  tlie  ^^  History,  Condition,  and 
Prospects  of  the  Indian  Tribes  ^,"  truly  says,  "  their  manners 
and  customs,  their  opinions  and  mental  habits,  had,  wherever 
they  were  inquired  into,  at  the  earliest  dates,  much  in  com- 
mon. Their  modes  of  war  and  worship,  hunting  and  amuse- 
ments, were  very  similar.  In  the  sacrifice  of  prisoners  taken 
in  war ;  in  the  laws  of  retaliation ;  in  the  sacred  character 
attached  to  public  transactions  solemnized  by  smoking  the 
pipe;  in  the  adoption  of  persons  taken  in  war,  in  families; 
in  the  exhibition  of  dances  on  almost  every  occasion  that  can 
enlist  human  sympathy;  in  the  meagre  and  inartificial  style 
of  music ;  in  the  totemic  tie  that  binds  relationships  toge- 
ther, and  in  the  system  of  symbols  and  figures  cut  and 
marked  on  their  grave-posts,  on  trees,  and  sometimes  on 
rocks,  there  is  a  perfect  identity  of  principles,  arts,  and 
opinions.  The  mere  act  of  wandering  and  petty  warfare 
kept  them  in  a  savage  state,  though  they  had  the  element 
of  civilization  with  them  in  the  Maize  f." 

As  regards  dress  many  of  the  Indian  chiefs  had  magni- 
ficent dresses  of  skins  and  feathers.  Some  of  the  tribes, 
indeed,  wore  no  clothes ;  but  this  was  rarely  the  case  with 
the  women,  and  even  the  men  had  generally  at  least  a  loin 
cloth.  The  amount  of  clothing,  however,  depended  very 
much  on  the  temperature.  In  the  plains  and  forests  of  the 
tropical  and  southern  latitudes,  ''  the  Indian  wears  little  or 
no  clothing  during  a  large  part  of  the  year;"  but  it  is  very 
difi'erent  on  the  mountains  and  in  the  north,  where  the 
common  dress  was  the  breech-cloth  and  mocassins,  with  a 
buffalo-skin  thrown  over  the  shoulders.  The  inhabitants  of 
Vancouver's  Island  had  mats,  made  either  of  dog's-wool 
alone,  of  dog's-wool  and  goose-down  together,  or  of  threads 
obtained  from  cedar-bark.     They  often  wore  "  necklaces  oi 

*  Publisbed  by  authority  of  Congress.    Philadelplua,  1853. 
t  1.  c,  vol.  ii.  p.  47. 


ORNAMENTS.       lABRETS.  517     "^ 

shells,  claws,  or  ■wampum ;  feathers  on  the  head,  and  armlets, 
as  well  as  ear  and  nose  jewels*."  ^lany  of  the  Indian 
tribes  are  clean  in  their  persons,  and  frequently  use  both  the 
sweat-house  and  cold  bath ;  others  are  described  as  repulsive 
in  countenance  and  filthy  both  in  person  and  habit. 

Tlie  eastern  tribes  do  not  generally  disfigure  themselves 
artificially,  except  indeed  by  the  use  of  paint ;  but  it  is  very 
different  in  the  west.  The  Sachet  Indians  of  De  Fuca's 
Straits  wear  pieces  of  bone  or  wood  passed  through  the 
cartilage  of  the  nose ;  the  Classet  Indians  cut  their  noses 
when  they  capture  a  whale ;  among  the  Babines,  who  live 
north  of  Columbia  River,  the  size  of  the  under-hp  is  the 
standard  of  female  beauty  f-  A  hole  is  made  in  the  under-lip 
of  the  infant,  in  which  a  small  bone  is  inserted ;  from  time 
to  time  the  bone  is  replaced  by  a  larger  one,  until  at  last  a 
piece  of  wood  three  inches'  long  and  an  inch  and  a  half 
wide,  is  inserted  in  the  orifice,  which  makes  the  lip  protrude 
to  a  frightful  extent.  The  process  appears  to  be  very 
painful. 

Owing  to  the  almost  universal  custom  of  fastening  babies 
to  a  cradle-board,  the  American  skulls  are  characterized  by  a 
flattened  occiput.  This  peculiarity  does  not  now  occur  in 
European  heads,  but  it  is  found  in  many  ancient  skulls  from 
various  parts  of  the  old  continents^  and  indicates,  as  pointed 
out  by  Vesalius,  Gosse,  and  Wilson,  that  the  cradle-board, 
though  long  abandoned,  was  at  one  time  used  in  "Western 
Europe,  as  it  is  even  now  among  the  Indians  of  North 
America.  The  extraordinary  practice  of  moulding  the  form 
of  the  head  was  common  to  several  of  the  Indian  tribes. 
It  prevailed  in  Mexico  and  Peru,  in  the  Carib  Islands,  and 
among  the  savage  tribes  of  Oregon.  Among  the  Natchez 
the  deformity  is  described  by  the  historian   of  De    Soto's 

*  Schoolcraft,  vol.  iii.  p.  65.  rica,  p.  212;  Vancouver,  1.  c.  vol.  ii. 

t  Kane's  Indians  of  North  Ame-       pp.  280,  408. 


518  THE    PKACTICE    OF    HEAD-MOULDING. 

expedition  as  consisting  of  an  upward  elongation  of  the 
cranium^  until  it  terminated  in  a  point  or  edge.  The  Choc- 
taws^  though  enemies  of  the  Natchez,  "  improved "  their 
heads  in  the  same  way.  Their  children  were  placed  upon 
a  board,  and  a  bag  of  sand  was  laid  upon  the  forehead, 
"  which,  by  continual  gentle  compressure,  gives  the  forehead 
somewhat  the  form  of  a  brick  from  the  temples  upwards, 
and  by  these  means  they  have  high  and  lofty  foreheads 
sloping  off  backwards*.''  The  Waxsaws,  Muscogees  or 
Creehs,  Catawbas,  and  Altacapas  are  described  as  having 
had  a  similar  custom.  It  was,  however,  only  the  male 
infants  which  were  treated  in  this  manner.  Among  the 
Nootka-Columbians  the  practice  of  flattening  the  head  was 
universal.  The  child  was  placed  in  a  box  or  cradle  lined 
with  moss.  The  occiput  rested  on  a  board  at  the  upper 
part  of  the  box,  and  another  board  was  brought  over  the 
forehead,  and  tied  firmly  down  on  the  head  of  the  infant. 
The  process  continued  until  the  child  was  able  to  walk,  at 
which  time  it  is  described  as  presenting  a  most  hideous 
appearance.  The  eyes  "  stand  a  prodigious  way  asunder," 
the  eyeballs  project  very  much,  and  are  directed  upwards, 
the  head  is  very  wide,  and  has  almost  the  form  of  a  wedge. 
The  Newatecs,  a  tribe  residing  on  the  north  end  of  Van- 
couver's Island,  forced  the  head  into  a  conical  shape,  by 
means  of  a  cord  of  deer-skin  padded  with  the  inner  bark 
of  the  cedar  tree.  This  cord,  which  is  about  as  thick  as  a 
man's  thumb,  is  wound  round  the  infant's  head  and  gradually 
forces  it  to  take  the  shape  of  a  tapering  conef.  Among  the 
Peruvians  the  forehead  was  pressed  downwards  and  back- 
wards by  tiglit  bandages,  of  which  there  seem  to  have  been 
generally  two,  leaving  a  space  between  them,  and  thus  pro- 
ducing a  well-marked  ridge  running  transversely  across  the 

*  Schoolcraft,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  324. 

t  Wilson  on  Physical  Ethnology,  Smithsonian  Eeport,  1862,  p.  288. 


EELIGION.       SOCIAL   POSITION    OP   WOMEN.  519 

skull.  Thus,  while  the  forehead  was  prevented  from  rising, 
and  the  sides  of  the  head  from  expanding,  the  occipital 
region  was  allowed  full  freedom  of  growth,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  brain  was  forced  to  take  an  unnatural  direction. 
So  great  was  the  change  produced,  so  extraordinary  is  the^ 
shape  of  these  abnormal  skulls,  that  many  ethnologists  have 
been  disposed  to  regard  them  as  belonging  to  a  peculiar  race. 
This  theory,  however,  has  been  clearly  proved  to  be  erroneous, 
and  is  now  universally  abandoned.  It  is  very  remarkable 
that  this  unnatural  process  does  not  appear  to  have  any 
prejudicial  effect  on  the  minds  of  the  sufferers*. 

Hearne  states  that  the  Northern  Indians  had  no  religion  j 
even  the  celebrated  ''  five  nations  "  of  Canada,  according  to 
Golden,  had  no  religion,  nor  any  word  for  God.  Burnetf 
never  found  any  semblance  of  worship  among  the  Coman- 
ches.  In  the  central  parts  of  North  America,  however, 
the  Indian  tribes  generally  believed  in  the  existence  of  a 
Great  Spirit,  and  the  survival  of  the  soul,  but  they  seem 
to  have  had  scarcely  any  religious  observances,  still  less  any 
edifices  for  sacred  purposes.  The  Dacotahs  never  pray  to 
the  Creator;  if  they  wish  for  fine  weather,  they  pray  to 
the  weather  itself.  They  beheve  that  the  Great  Spirit  made 
all  things  except  thunder  and  rice,  but  we  are  not  told  the 
reason  for  these  two  curious  exceptions. 

The  social  position  of  the  women  seems  to  have  been  very 
degraded  among  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  North  'America. 
"  Thair  wives,  or  dogs,  as  some  of  the  Indians  term  them," 
are  indeed  well  treated  as  long  as  they  do  all  the  work^  and 
Hhere  is  plenty  to  eat;  but  throughout  the  continent,  as 
indeed  among  all  savages,  the  domestic  drudgery  falls  to  their 
lot,  while  the  men  hunt  and  make  war ;  though  in  justice  to 

*  Beecher'a    Voyapfo    round    the  t  Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  237.     See 

World,  vol.  i.  p.  308 ;  Wilson,  Smith-      also  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition, 
Bonian  Ecport,  1862;  p.  287.  vol.  ii.  p.  21. 


520  CHAKACTEE. 

them  we  must  remember  that  the  former  at  least  of  these  two 
occupations  was  of  the  greatest  possible  importance,  and  that 
upon  it  depended  their  principal  means  of  subsistence. 
Polygamy  generally  prevailed ;  the  husband  had  absolute 
power  over  his  wives,  and  the  marriage  lasted' only  as  long 
as  he  pleased.  Among  some  of  the  North  Californian 
Indians  it  is  not  thought  right  to  beat  the  wives,  but  the 
men  "  allow  themselves  the  privilege  of  shooting  such  as 
they  tired  of  *.'^  Among  the  Dogribs  and  other  northern 
tribes,  the  women  are  the  property  of  the  strongest.  Every 
one  is  considered  to  have  both  a  legal  and  moral  right  to 
take  the  wife  of  any  man  weaker  than  he  is.  In  fact,  the 
men  fight  for  the  possession  of  the  women,  just  like  stags  and 
the  males  of  other  wild  beasts f.  Lending  wives  is  a  frequent 
custom  J. 

'^  Imperturbability  §,  in  all  situations,  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  and  general  traits  of  the  Indian  character.  To  BtiU 
his  muscles  to  resist  the  expression  of  all  emotion,  seenis  to 
be  the  point  of  attainment ;  and  this  is  particularly  observed 
on  public  occasions.  Neither  fear  nor  joy  are  permitted  to 
break  this  trained  equanimity.^'  Even  among  relations  "  it 
is  not  customary  to  indulge  in  warm  greetings.  The  pride 
and  stoicism  of  the  hunter  and  warrior  forbid  it.  The  pride 
of  the  wife,  who  has  been  made  the  creature  of  rough 
endurance,  also  forbids  it.'' 

But  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  evidence  of  this  is  the 
fact   that   the   Algonquin    language,   although   one   of  the 
richest,  contained  no  word  for  "  to  love,"  and  when  Elliott 
translated  the  Bible  for  them  in  1661,  he  was  obliged  to* 
coin  one.     He  introduced  the  word  "  womon  "  to  supply  the 


*  Col.  M'Kee  in  Schoolcraft's  In-  J  Heame,  1.  c.  p.   128 ;  Carver's 

dian  Tribes,  vol.  iii.  p.  127.  Travels,  p.   131 ;  James'  Expedition 

t  See   Heame's    Journey  to    the  totheEocky  Mountains,  vol.  i.  p.  212. 

Copper. Mine  Kiver,  p.  104.  §  Schoolcraft,  vol.  iii.  p.  58. 


CKUELTY.       INFANTICIDE.  521 

want.  Again,  the  Tinno  language*  contains  no  word  to 
express  "  dear  "  or  "  belovcd.^^  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that 
Kane  found  the  Cree  Indians  swearing  in  French,  having  no 
oaths  in  their  own  language  f.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  records,  as 
an  indication  that  they  are  in  reality  of  affectionate  dis- 
position, that  he  "  once  saw  a  Fox  Indian  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi,  near  whose  wigwam  I  had,  unnoticed  to  him, 
wandered,  take  up  his  male  infant  in  his  arms,  and  several 
times  kiss  it|."  The  special  mention  of  this  fact  conveys  a 
different  impression  from  that  which  was  intended.  Never- 
theless, among  the  better  tribes  many  no  doubt  are  capable 
of  feeling  strong  affection,  and  there  are  even  cases  on  record 
in  which  the  father  has  redeemed  his  son  from  the  stake,  and 
actually  been  burnt  in  his  stead. 

Partly  no  doubt  from  the  hatred  produced  by  almost  in- 
cessant wars,  partly  perhaps  encouraged  by  the  stoical  dis- 
regard of  pain  which  it  was  their  pride  to  affect,  the  North 
American  Indians  were  very  cruel  to  captives  taken  in  war. 
Scalping  seems  to  have  been  an  universal  practice,  and  it  is 
even  said  that  the  Sioux  sometimes  ate  the  hearts  of  their 
enemies,  every  one  of  the  war-party  getting  a  mouthful,  if 
possible. 

Infanticide  was  common  in  the  north,  but  does  not  seem 
to  have  prevailed  among  the  southern  tribes  to  any  great 
extent;  and  until  the  advent  of  Europeans  they  do  not 
appear  to  have  had  any  fermented  liquors.  The  Sioux, 
Assiniboines,  and  other  tribes  on  the  Missouri  are  said  to 
have  habitually  abandoned  those  who  from  age  or  infirmities 
were  unable  to  follow  the  hunting-camps.  The  same  was 
frequently  the  case  among  the  northern  tribes. 

Copper  is  found  native  in  the  northern  districts,  and  even 
before  the  advent  of  the  Europeans  was  used  for  hatchets, 

*  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  24.  f  !•  c.  p.  339. 

J  1.  c.  vol.  iii.  p.  64. 


522  IMPLEMENTS.      WEAPONS. 

bracelets,  etc.  Nevertheless,  it  was  used  rather  as  a  stone 
than  as  a  metal ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Indians  did  not  heat  it 
and  run  it  into  moulds,  or  work  it  when  hot,  but  simply  took 
advantage  of  its  malleability  and  hammered  it  into  form, 
without  the  assistance  of  heat.  Metallic  vessels  were  quite 
unknown  to  the  aborigines  of  North  America. 

The  implements  of  the  Shoshonees,  or  Snake  Indians,  are 
described  by  Wyeth.  Their  possessions  were  confined  to 
"the  pot,  bow  and  arrow,  knives,  graining  tools,  awls,  root- 
digger,  fish-spears,  nets,  a  kind  of  boat  or  raft,  the  pipe, 
mats  for  shelter,  and  implements  to  produce  fire  *." 

The  pot  was  made  of  "  long  tough  roots,  wound  in  plies 
around  a  centre,  shortening  the  circumference  of  the  outer 
plies  so  as  to  form  a  vessel  in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  bee- 
hive." They  were  so  well  made  as  to  be  quite  water-tight, 
and  though  of  course  they  could  not  be  put  on  the  fire, 
still  they  were  used  for  boiling,  in  the  manner  already 
described  as  practised  by  other  savages.  The  Dacotahs 
are  said  to  have  sometimes  boiled  animals  in  their  own 
skins,  taking  the  skin  ojff  whole,  suspending  it  at  the  four 
corners,  and  making  use  of  boiling  stones  as  usual.  They 
had  also  stone  vessels,  but  these  were  rare,  and  probably 
used  only  as  mortars. 

Their  bows   are  very  skilfully  made  of  the  horns  of  the 

mountain  sheep  and  elk,  or  sometimes  of  wood.     "The  string 

is  of  twisted  sinew,   and  is  used  loose,  and  those  using  this 

bow  require  a  guard  to  protect  the  hand  which  holds  it." 

The  arrow  is   driven  with  such  force  that  it  will  pass  right 

through  the  body  of  a  horse  or  buSalof,  and  in  the  account 

of  De  Soto's  expedition,  it  is  stated  that  on  one  occasion  an 

arrow  went  through  the  saddle  and  housings  of  a  horse  and 

penetrated  one-third  of  its  length  into  the  body.     Although 

*  Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  212.  p.   141 ;  Catlin,  1.    c.  vol.  i.  p.  31 ; 

t  Schoolcraft,  1.  c.  vol.  iii.  pp.  35,  vol.  ii.  p.  212  ;  McKean  and  Hall's 
46  J  Kane's  North  American  Indians,       Indian  Tribes,  vol.  iL.  p.  4. 


KNIVES.       SPEARS.       BOATS.  523 

on  the  wliole  far  inferior  to  the  rifle,  still  in  hunting,  the  bow- 
has  the  one  great  advantage  of  silence.  Among  several  of 
the  tribes,  arrow-making  was  a  distinct  profession.  The 
arrow-heads  are  of  obsidian,  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch 
long  and  half  an  inch  wide,  and  quite  thin.  Tlie  base  is 
expanded  and  is  inserted  into  the  split  end  of  the  shaft,  being 
kept  in  its  place  by  sinews.  The  shaft  is  about  two  feet  and 
a  half  long ;  when  intended  for  hunting  it  is  expanded  at  the 
end,  so  that  when  it  is  drawn  out  of  the  wound  the  arrow- 
head is  extracted  also ;  but  the  shafts  of  war-arrows  taper  to 
the  end,  so  that  when  they  are  drawn  out  the  head  remains 
behind.  The  sling  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  used. 
The  knives  are  rudely  made  of  obsidian,  and  are  sometimes 
fastened  in  handles  of  wood  or  horn.  The  graining  tools 
for  preparing  skins  are  sometimes  of  bone,  sometimes  of 
obsidian.  Mr.  Wyeth  does  not  describe  their  form.  Awls 
were  made  of  bone ;  large  thorns  also  being  sometimes  used 
for  the  purpose.  Root-diggers  are  either  made  of  horns,  or 
of  crooked  sticks  pointed  and  hardened  by  fire.  '^  The  fish- 
spcar  is  a  very  simple  and  ingenious  implement.  The  head 
is  of  bone,  to  which  a  small  strong  line  is  attached  near 
the  middle,  connecting  it  with  the  shaft  about  two  feet  from 
the  point.  Near  the  forward  end  of  this  head  there  is  a 
small  hole,  which  enters  it  ranging  acutely  towards  the  point 
of  the  head ;  it  is  quite  shallow.  In  this  hole  the  front  end 
of  the  shaft  is  placed."  ITie  shaft  is  of  hght  willow,  and 
about  ten  feet  long.  When  the  fish  is  struck,  the  shaft  is 
withdrawn,  and  the  string  at  once  pulls  the  bone  end  into  a 
transverse  position.  The  fish-nets  are  made  of  bark,  which 
gives  a  very  strong  line,  and  are  of  two  kinds,  the  scoop  and 
the  seine.  ITiey  are,  however,  unknown  among  the  northern 
tribes  west  of  the  Mackenzie*.  The  boats  of  the  Shoshonees 
hardly  deserve  the  name,  and  seem  to  be  used  only  for  crosa- 
*  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  25. 


524 


FIRE. 


ing  rivers.  They  are  about  eiglit  feet  long,  and  made  of 
reeds,  but  there  is  no  attempt  to  make  them  water-tight. 
Other  tribes,  however,  have  much  better  canoes,  made  either 
of  bark  or  of  a  log  hollowed  out.  The  pipes  are  large,  and 
the  bowl  is  generally  of  fuller's  earth,  or  of  soap-stone. 
The  mats  are  about  four  feet  long,  are  made  of  rushes,  and 
are  used  either  as  beds,  or  in  the  construction  of  wigwams. 

They  obtain  fire  by  rubbing  a  piece  of  wood  in  a  hole. 
The  Chippeways  and  Natchez  tribes  had  an  institution  for 
keeping  up  a  perpetual  fire,  certain  persons  being  set  aside 
and  devoted  to  this  occupation. 

The  Dacotahs  used  a  drill  bow  (fig.  224)  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  fire.  This  instrument,  as  shown  in  the  accom- 
panying figure,  is  a  small  stiS"  bow,  the  string  of  which 
forms  a  loop  round  the  upright  stick,  and  thus,  when  the 
bow  is  moved  backwards  and  forwards,  gives  it  a  rotatory 
movement.  The  Iroquois  had  efiected  a  still  further  im- 
provement, and  worked  with  an  instrument  (fig.  225)  closely 
resembling  that  used  in  Western  Europe,  and  also  in  Cey- 
lon*, to  drill  holes  in  earthenware  and  metal. 


Fig.  225. 


Fig.  224, 


Dacotah  Fire  Drill  Bow 


Iroquois  Fire  Pump  DrilL 
Davy's  Ceylon,  p.  263. 


DWELLINGS.  525 

The  huts  or  wigwams  of  the  North  American  Indians  are 
of  two  kinds,  one  for  summer,  and  the  other  for  winter. 
The  winter  wigwam  of  the  Dacotahs  is  thus  described  by 
Schoolcraft :  '*  To  erect  one  of  them  it  is  only  necessary  to  cut 
a  few  saplings  about  fifteen  feet  in  length,  place  the  large 
ends  on  the  ground  in  a  circle,  letting  the  tops  meet,  thus 
forming  a  cone.  The  buffalo-skins,  sewed  together  in  the 
form  of  a  cap,  are  then  thrown  over  them  and  fastened  toge- 
ther with  a  few  splints.  The  fire  is  made  on  the  ground  in 
the  centre  of  the  wigwam,  and  the  smoke  escapes  through 
an  aperture  at  the  top.  These  wigwams  are  warm  and  com- 
fortable. The  other  kind  of  hut  is  made  of  bark,  usually 
that  of  the  elm*."  The  huts  of  the  Mandans  -f,  Minatarees, 
etc.,  were  circular  in  form,  and  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  in 
diameter.  The  earth  was  removed  to  a  depth  of  about  two 
feet.  The  framework  was  of  timber,  covered  with  willow 
boughs,  but  leaving  a  space  in  the  middle  to  serve  both  as 
chimney  and  window.  Over  the  woodwork  was  placed  a 
thick  layer  of  earth,  and  at  the  top  of  all  some  tough  clay, 
which  was  impervious  to  water,  and  in  time  became  quite 
hard,  as  in  fine  weather  the  tops  of  the  huts  were  the  com- 
mon lounging  place  for  the  whole  tribe.  Though  these 
dwellings  were  sometimes  kept  very  clean  and  tidy  J,  this 
was  not  always  the  case.  Speaking  of  the  Nootka  Sound 
Indians,  Captain  Cook  §  says  :  "  The  nastiness  and  stench  of 
their  houses  are,  however,  at  least  equal  to  the  confusion. 
For,  as  they  dry  their  fish  within  doors,  they  also  gut  them 
there,  which,  with  their  bones  and  fragments  thrown  down 
at  meals,  and  the  addition  of  other  sorts  of  filth,  lie  every 
where  in  heaps,  and  are,  I  believe,  never  carried  away  till  it 

*  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  191.  t  Catlin's  American  Indians,  vol.  i. 

t  This  tribe,  ono  of  tho  most  in-  p.  82. 
tcrcsting,    has   been  entirely  swept  §  Third  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  316. 

away  by  the  small-pox. 


526  DWELLINGS.      AGRICULTURE. 

becomes  troublesome,  from  their  size,  to  walk  over  tbem. 
In  a  word,  tbeir  bouses  are  as  filtby  as  bog-sties :  every 
tbing  in  and  about  tbem  stinking  of  fisb,  train-oil,  and 
smoke.'' 

The  Walla  walla  Indians*  of  Columbia  dig  a  circular  bole 
in  tbe  ground  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep,  and  from  forty 
to  fifty  feet  in  circumference,  and  cover  it  over  witb  drift- 
wood and  mud.  A  bole  is  left  on  one  side  for  a  door,  and  a 
notcbed  pole  serves  as  a  ladder  (see  fig.  141,  p.  132).  Here 
twelve  or  fifteen  persons  burrow  tbrougb  tbe  winter,  requir- 
ing very  little  fire,  as  tbey  generally  eat  tbeir  salmon  raw, 
and  tbe  place  is  warm  from  tbe  numbers  collected  togetber 
and  tbe  absence  of  ventilation.  In  summer  tbey  use  lodges 
made  of  rusbes  or  mats  spread  on  poles.  Tbis  tribe  lives 
principally  on  salmon,  preferring  it  putrid. 

Soutb  of  tbe  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  west  of  tbe  Rocky 
Mountains  almost  all  tbe  tribes  seem  to  bave  grown  more  or 
less  maize.  In  tbe  Carolinas  and  Virginia  tbe  Indians  raised 
large  quantities,  and  "  all  relied  on  it  as  one  of  tbeir  fixed 
means  of  subsistence  f."  Tbe  Delawares  bad  extensive  maize 
fields  at  tbe  time  of  tbe  discovery  of  America.  In  1527, 
De  Vaca  saw  it  in  small  quantities  in  Florida,  and  De  Soto, 
twelve  years  later,  found  it  abundant  among  tbe  Muscogees, 
Cboctaws,  Cbickasaws,  and  Cberokees.  On  one  occasion  bis 
army  marcbed  tbrougb  fields  of  it  for  a  distancp  of  two 
leagues.  It  is  known  to  bave  been  cultivated  by  tbe  Iroquois 
in  1610,  and,  tbougb  only  in  small  quantities,  '^by  tbe  bunter 
communities  of  tbe  Obio,  tbe  Wabagb,  tbe  Miami,  and  tbe 
Illinois,"  as  well  as  by  tbe  natives  along  botb  banks  of  tbe 
Mississippi.  Tbe  evidences  of  ancient  agriculture  bave  been 
already  alluded  to  in  tbe  cbapter  on  Nortb  American  Arcbae- 

*  Kane's  North  American  Indians,  f  Sclioolcraffc,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  6.     See 

p.  272;  United  States'  Exploring  Ex-  also  Eichardson's  Arctic  Expedition, 
pedition,  vol.  iv.  p.  452.  vol.  ii.  p.  51. 


MAIZE.       RICE.      ANIMAL  FOOD.  527 

ology;  tlie  maize  appears  to  have  been  the  only  plant  actually 
under  cultivation ;  but  some  of  the  tribes  depended  for  their 
subsistence  very  much  on  roots,  etc.  The  principal  imple- 
ment of  agriculture  seems  to  have  been  the  hoe,  for  which 
they  often  used  the  shoulder-blade  of  the  bison  fixed  into  a 
handle  of  wood.  "Wild  rice  also  grew  abundantly  in  the 
shallow  lakes  and  streams  of  Michigan,  "Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
Minnesota,  as  well  as  in  the  upper  valleys  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri.  It  was  gathered  by  the  women,  and  formed 
one  of  their  principal  articles  of  food.  They  went  into  the 
rice-fields  in  canoes,  and  bending  the  stalks  in  handfuls  over 
the  sides  of  the  canoe,  beat  out  the  grain  with  paddles. 

The  North  American  Indians,  however,  depended  mainly 
on  the  animal  kingdom  for  their  subsistence.  They  are 
essentially  hunters  and  fishermen;  the  buflfalo,  the  deer, 
and  the  salmon  supplying  them  with  their  principal  articles 
of  food.  The  buSaloes  were  sometimes  driven  into  pounds, 
sometimes  shot  on  the  open  prairie  with  bows  and  arrows. 
Fish  were  speared,  caught  in  weirs,  etc.,  or  shot  with  the 
bow.  The  Macaws  and  Clallums  on  the  Pacific  coast  some- 
times even  killed  whales.  For  this  purpose  they  use  large 
barbed  hai'poons  of  bone,  with  a  string,  and  a  strong  seal- 
skin bag  filled  with  air.  This  apparatus  Avas  used  in  the 
same  manner  as  among  the  Esquimaux  [ante,  p.  503).  Like 
all  carnivorous  animals,  the  Indians  alternate  between  sea- 
sons of  great  plenty  and  extreme  want.  Usually  game  is 
abundant,  and  Noka,  one  of  their  most  celebrated  hunters, 
is  said  to  have  killed  in  one  day  sixteen  elks,  four  buffaloes, 
five  deer,  three  bears,  one  porcupine,  and  one  lynx.  This 
of  course  was  a  very  exceptional  case.  Still  there  is  gene- 
rally some  season  of  the  year  when  they  kill  more  game  than 
is  required  for  immediate  consumption.  In  this  case  the 
surplus  is  dried  and  made  into  pemmican.  In  winter,  how- 
ever, they  are  often  very  short  of  provisions.     Back  gives  a 


528 


BUEIAL.       ART. 


terrible  picture  of  their  sufferings  in  famine  times*;  and 
Wyeth  tells  us  that  tlie  Shoslionees  "  nearly  starve  to  dfeath 
annually,  and  in  winter  and  spring  are  emaciated  to  the  last 
degree;  the  trappers  used  to  think  they  all  eventually  died 
from  starvation,  as  they  became  old  and  feeble  f." 

As  might  naturally  be  expected,  the  mode  of  burial  varies 
much  in  different  parts  of  North  America.  In  Columbia 
and  among  many  of  the  Prairie  tribes,  the  dead  are  generally 
sewn  up  in  a  skin  or  blanket  and  placed  either  on  the 
boughs  of  a  tree  or  on  a  scaffold ;  the  personal  property  of 
each  deceased  individual  being  placed  near  the  body  J ."  In 
some  cases  the  bodies  were  placed  in  canoes,  and  deposited 
among  the  branches  of  trees.  Many  of  the  Eastern  races, 
as  already  mentioned  {ante,  p.  130),  buried  their  dead  under 
tumuli.  Among  the  Clear  Lake  Indians,  the  Carriers,  etc., 
it  was  usual  to  burn  them,  while  in  Florida  they  were  in- 
terred in  a  sitting  posture.  Among  other  tribes  the  bones 
of  the  dead  were  collected  every  eight  or  ten  years,  and  laid 
in  one  common  burial  place. 

The  Eedskins  are  not  altogether  deficient  in  art,  being 
able  to  make  rude  carvings,  and  to  trace  equally  rude  draw- 
ings on  their  wigwams,  robes,  etc.;  but  about  portraits  they 
have  some  curious  ideas.  They  think  that  an  artist  acquires 
some  mysterious  power  over  any  one  whose  likeness  he  may 
have  taken;  and  on  one  occasion,  when  annoyed  by  some 
Indians,  Mr.  Kane  got  rid  of  them  at  once  by  threatening  to 
draw  any  one  who  remained.  Not  one  ventured  to  do  so. 
If  the  likeness  is  good,  so  much  the  worse — it  is,  they  fancy, 
half  alive, — at  the  expense  of  the  sitter.  So  much  life,  they 
argue,  could  only  be  put  in  the  picture  by  taking  it  away 
from  the  original.     Again,  they  fancy  that  if  the  picture  were 


*  Arctic  Land  Expedition,  p.  194 
to  226.  See  also  Richardson's  Arc- 
tic Expedition,  toI.  ii.  p.  96. 


t  Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  216. 
t  United  States'  Exploring  Expe- 
dition, vol.  iv.  p.  389. 


ART.  529 

injured,  by  some  mysterious  connexion  the  origiual  would 
suffer  also.  But  perhaps  the  oddest  notion  of  all  is  recorded 
by  Catlin.  He  excited  great  commotion  among  the  Sioux 
by  drawing  one  of  their  great  chiefs  in  profile.  "  Why  was 
half  his  face  left  out/'  they  asked ;  "  Mahtochecga  was  never 
ashamed  to  look  a  white  man  in  the  face."  Malitocheega 
himself  does  not  seem  to  have  taken  any  offence,  but  Shonka, 
The  Dog,  took  advantage  of  the  idea  to  taunt  him.  "  The 
Englishman  knows,"  he  said,  'Hhat  you  are  but  half  a  man; 
he  has  painted  but  one  half  of  your  face,  and  knows  that 
the  rest  is  good  for  nothing."  This  view  of  the  case  led  to 
a  fight,  in  which  poor  Mahtochecga  was  shot ;  and  as  ill- 
luck  would  have  it,  the  bullet  by  which  he  was  killed  tore 
away  just  that  part  of  the  face  which  had  been  omitted  in 
the  drawing.  This  was  very  unfortunate  for  Mr.  Catlin, 
who  had  great  difficulty  in  making  his  escape,  and  lived 
some  months  after  in  fear  for  his  life ;  nor  was  the  matter 
settled  until  both  Shonka  and  his  brother  had  been  killed  in 
revenge  for  the  death  of  Mahtochecga. 

Like  so  many  other  savage  races  the  North  Americans  are 
rapidly  disappearing.  Left  to  themselves  they  would  perhaps 
have  developed  an  indigenous  civilization,  but  for  ours  they 
are  unfit.  Unable  to  compete  with  Europeans  as  equals, 
and  too  proud  to  work  as  inferiors,  they  have  profited  by 
intercourse  with  the  superior  race  only  where  the  paternal 
government  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  protected  them 
both  from  the  settlers  and  from  themselves,  has  encouraged 
hunting,  put  an  end  to  war,  prevented  the  sale  of  spirits, 
and,  in  times  of  scarcity,  provided  food.  Ere  long  the  only 
remains  of  the  Indian  blood  will,  perhaps,  be  found  in  the 
territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

36 


630  THE   PARAGUAY   INDIANS. 


The  Paraguay  Indians. 

The  Indians  of  Paraguay  have  been  described  by  Dobritz- 
hoffer*  and  by  Don  Felix  de  Azaraf,  who  lived  a  long  time 
among  them.  He  found  them  divided  into  several  different 
nations  or  tribes,  with  at  least  forty  distinct  languages,  and 
with  different  customs.  Some  of  them  lived  by  fishing,  but 
the  greater  number  depended  for  their  subsistence  on  the 
wild  horses  and  cattle,  and  must  therefore  have  had  different 
habits  before  the  discovery  of  America  by  the  Europeans. 
Their  principal  arms  were  long  spears,  clubs,  and  bows  and 
arrows.  Some  tribes,  however,  as,  for  instance,  those  of  the 
Pampas,  do  not  use  bows  and  arrows,  but  prefer  the  bolas. 
In  war,  the  Indians  of  Paraguay  gave  no  quarter  to  men, 
but  spared  only  the  women  and  children. 

Their  houses,  if  we  can  call  them  so,  were  of  the  simplest 
character ;  they  cut  three  or  four  boughs,  stuck  the  two  ends 
into  the  ground,  and  threw  over  them  a  cow-skin.  Their 
bed  consisted  of  another  skin ;  they  had  no  chairs  or  tables, 
or  any  kind  of  furniture.  The  men  seldom  wore  any  clothes; 
the  dress  of  th-e  women  consisted  usually  of  a  poncho, 
although  among  some  of  the  tribes,  as  the  Nalicuegas,  even 
this  was  dispensed  with.  The  art  of  washing  seems  to  have 
been  entirely  unknown,  though  Azara  admits  that  in  very 
hot  weather  they  used  sometimes  to  bathe,  rather,  however, 
as  it  would  appear,  for  coolness,  than  for  cleanliness.  It  is 
unnecessary  therefore  to  say  that  they  wer-e  excessively  filthy. 
They  had  no  domestic  animals,  nor  any  idea  of  agriculture. 
Their  doctors  had  but  one  remedy,  which  they  applied  in  all 
cases,  and  which  had  at  least  the  great  merit  of  being  harm- 

*  Dobritzlioflfer,    History    of    the  f  Voyages  dans  rAmerique  Men. 

Abipones.  dionale,  1809. 


THE   PATAGONIANS.  531 

less — since  it  consisted  "k  sucer  avcc  beaucoup  de  force 
I'estomac  du  patient,  pour  en  tirer  le  mal*." 

Many,  of  the  tribes  painted  their  bodies  in  various  ways, 
and  it  was  usual  to  pierce  the  under-lip  and  insert  a  piece 
of  wood,  about  four  or  five  inches  long,  which  they  never 
removed. 

They  had  no  established  form  of  government,  nor,  accord- 
ing to  Azara,  any  ideas  of  religion.  He  makes  this  latter 
statement  generally  for  all  the  Indians,  and  repeats  it  parti- 
cularly for  the  following  tribes — namely,  the  Charruas,  Min- 
uanas,  Aucas,  Guaranys,  Guayanas,  Nalicuegas,  Guasarapos, 
Guatos,  Ninaquiguilas,  Guanas,  Lenguas,  Aguilots,  Mocobys, 
Abipones,  and  Paraguas ;  yet  it  appears  from  other  passages 
that  some  at  least  of  these  tribes  were  believers  in  witch- 
craft and  in  mysterious  evil  beings. 

Azara  describes  the  language  of  the  Guaranys  as  being 
the  most  copious,  and  yet  it  was  in  many  respects  very  de- 
ficient ;  for  instance,  they  could  only  count  up  to  four,  and 
had  no  words  for  the  higher  numbers,  not  even  for  five  or 
six.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  marriage  tie  was 
little  regarded  among  them ;  they  married  when  they  liked, 
and  separated  again  when  they  pleased. 

Infanticide  was,  in  several  of  the  tribes,  the  rule,  rather 
than  the  exception ;  the  women  brought  up  but  one  child 
each,  and  as  they  spared  only  the  one  which  they  thought 
likely  to  be  the  last,  it  often  happened  that  they  were  left 
without  any  at  all. 

The  Patagonians. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  southern  parts  of  South  America, 
although  they  are  divided  into  numerous  difierent  tribes, 

•  Azara,  1.  c.  p.  25.     Dobritzhoffer'a  History  of  the  Abipones,  vol.  ii.  p.  251. 


632  STATUEE. 

may  be  considered  as  falling  into  two  great  groups  :  tie 
Patagonians^  or  Horse  Indians  on  the  East^  who  have  horses 
but  no  canoes;  and  the  Chonos  and  Fuegians^  or  Canoe 
Indians,  who  have  canoes,  but  no  horses,  and  who  inhabit 
the  tempestuous  islands  on  the  south  and  west. 

The  Yacana-kunny  who  inhabit  the  north  eastern  part  of 
Tierra  del  Fuego,  are,  properly  speaking,  not  Fuegians, 
but  Patagonians,  and  resemble  them  in  colour,  stature,  and 
clothing,  except  the  peculiar  boots.  They  live  now  pretty 
much  as  the  main-landers  probably  did  before  the  introduc- 
tion of  horses,  and  feed  principally  on  guanacoes,  ostriches, 
birds,  and  seals,  which  they  kill  with  dogs,  bows  and  arrows, 
bolas,  slings,  lances  and  clubs*.  The  habits  of  the  Pata- 
gonians must  have  been  much  altered  by  the  introduction  of 
the  horse,  but  we  can  only  deal  with  them  as  they  now  are. 

The  Horse  and  Canoe  Indians  offer  a  great  contrast  in 
point  of  size;  while  the  latter  are  short,  ill-looking,  and 
badly  proportioned,  the  former  are  considerably  above  the 
average  height,  and  are  described  by  early  travellers  as 
being  truly  gigantic.  They  were  first  visited  in  1519  by 
Magellan,  who  assures  us  that  many  of  them  were  above 
seven  feet  (French)  in  height.  In  1525  they  were  seen  by 
Garcia  de  Loaisa,  who  mentions  their  great  stature,  but  does 
not  seem  to  have  measured  them.  Similar  statements  were 
made  by  Cavendish,  Knevett,  Sibald  de  Veert,  Yan  Noort, 
Spilbergen,  and  Lemaire ;  in  fact,  out  of  the  fifteen  first 
voyagers  who  passed  through  the  Magellanic  Straits,  not 
fewer  than  nine  attest  the  fact  of  the  gigantic  size  of  the 
Patagonians ;  in  which  they  are  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  several  subsequent  travellers,  and  especially  of  Falkner, 
who  assures  us  that  he  saw  many  men  who  were  over  seven 
feet  in  height. 

It  is  difficult  altogether  to  reject  these  statements,  and  as 

*  Fitzroy,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


HUTS.       DRESS.  533 

they  are  certainly  not  applicable  to  the  present  race,  it  is 
possible  that  there  may  have  been  a  change  of  size  owing  to 
the  introduction  and  general  use  of  the  horse. 

The  huts,  or  "  toldos/'  of  the  Patagonians,  are  "  rectan- 
gular in  form,  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  ten  deep,  seven 
feet  high  in  front,  and  six  feet  in  the  rear.  The  frame  of 
the  building  is  formed  by  poles  stuck  in  the  ground,  having 
forked  tops  to  hold  cross  pieces,  on  which  are  laid  poles  for 
rafters,  to  support  the  covering,  which  is  made  of  skins  of 
animals  sewn  together,  so  as  to  be  almost  impervious  to 
rain  or  wind.  The  posts  and  i-afters,  which  are  not  easily 
procured,  are  carried  from  place  to  place  in  all  their  travel- 
ling excursions.  Having  reached  their  bivouac,  and  marked 
out  a  place  with  due  regard  to  shelter  from  the  wind,  they 
dig  holes  with  a  piece  of  pointed  hard  wood,  to  receive  the 
posts  :  and  all  the  frame  and  cover  being  ready  it  takes  but 
a  short  time  to  erect  a  dwelling  ^'." 

They  have  no  pottery,  and  for  carrying  water  the  only 
vessels  they  use  are  bladders.  *  Their  dress  consists  princi- 
pally of  skins,  sewn  together  with  ostrich  sinews,  and  often 
curiously  painted  on  one  side;  but,  according  to  Falknerf, 
some  of  the  tribes  "  make  or  weave  fine  mantles  of  woollen 
yarn,  beautifully  dyed  with  many  colours.  They  have  also 
a  small  triangular  apron,  two  corners  of  which  are  tied  round 
the  waist,  while  the  third  passes  between  the  legs  and  is 
fastened  behind.  When  on  horseback  they  use  a  kind  of 
poncho  or  mantle,  with  a  slit  in  the  middle,  through  which 
they  put  their  head.  For  boots  they  wear  the  ''skin  of 
the  thighs  and  legs  of  mares  and  colts  -, "  they  clean  the 
skins,  and  then,  after  drying,  soften  with  grease,  and  so  put 
them  on  without  either  shaping  or  sewing  J.     They  make 

*  Fitzroy,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  93.  and  it  was  on  account  of  those  shoes 

t  Falkncr's  Patagonia,  p.  128.  that  Magellan  called  them  "  Patago- 

X  When  first  visited  they  used  the  nians." 
skin  of  the  guanaco  for  this  purpose, 


534  WEAPONS. 

brushes  of  grasSj  twigs^  and  rushes^  and  use  the  jaw  of  a 
porpoise  for  a  comb*.  The  women  wear  a  mantle,  fastened 
across  the  breast  by  a  wooden  skewer,  or  pin,  and  tied  round 
the  waist.  They  have  also  a  kind  of  apron  which  reaches 
down  to  their  knees,  but  which  only  covers  them  in  front. 
Their  boots  are  made  in  the  same  way  as  those  of  the  men. 
Like  other  savages,  they  are  fond  of  beads,  feathers,  and 
other  ornaments.  They  also  paint  themselves  with  red, 
black,  and  white,  which,  however,  to  European  eyes  is  any 
thing  but  an  improvement.  Their  defensive  armour  consists 
of  a  helmet  and  a  shield,  both  made  of  thick  hide,  and  strong 
enough  to  resist  either  arrows  or  lances. 

Their  bows  are  small,  and  the  arrows,  which  are  pointed 
with  stone  or  bone,  are  said  to  be  sometimes  poisoned.  They 
have  also  clubs  and  long  cane  lances,  most  of  which  are  now 
tipped  with  iron.  But  the  weapons  which  are  most  charac- 
teristic ,of  the  Patagonians,  and  which  are  indeed  almost 
peculiar  to  them,  are  the  bolasf,  of  which  there  are  two  or 
three  sorts.  That  used  in  war  is  a  single  rounded  stone  or 
ball  of  hardened  clay,  weighing  about  a  pound,  and  fastened 
to  a  short  rope  or  sinew  of  skin.  This  they  sometimes  throw 
at  their  adversary,  rope  and  all,  but  generally  they  prefer  to 
strike  at  his  head  with  it.  For  hunting  they  use  two  similar 
stones  fastened  together  by  a  rope,  which  is  generally  three 
or  four  yards  long.  One  of  the  stones  they  take  in  their 
hand,  and  then  whirling  the  other  round  their  head,  throw 
both  at  the  object  they  wish  to  entangle.  Sometimes  several 
balls  are  used,  but  two  appear  to  be  the  usual  number. 
They  do  not  try  to  strike  their  victim  with  the  balls  them- 
selves, but  with  the  rope,  ^'and  then  of  course  the  balls 
swing  round  in  different  directions  and  the  thongs  become  so 
'  laid  up,'  or  twisted,  that  struggling  only  makes  the  captive 

*  Fitzroy,  vol.  i.  p.  75.  t  Falkner,  1.  c.  p.  130. 


FOOD.       BUKIAL.  635 

more  secure*."  It  is  said  that  a  man  on  horseback  can  use 
the  "  bolas  "  effectually  at  a  distance  of  eighty-  yards  f.  They 
also  use  the  lasso. 

On  the  coast  their  food  consists  principally  of  fish,  which 
they  kill  either  by  diving  or  striking  them  with  their  darts. 
Guanacoes  and  ostriches  they  catch  with  the  bolas,  and  they 
also  cat  mare's  flesh,  as  well  as  various  sorts  of  small  game, 
and  at  least  two  kinds  of  wild  roots.  They  have  no  fer- 
mented liquor,  and  the  only  prepared  drink  which  they  use 
is  a  decoction  of  chalas,  and  the  juice  of  berberries  mixed 
with  water. 

The  death  of  a  native  is  attended  with  peculiar  ceremonies. 
The  bones  having  been  as  much  as  possible  freed  from  the 
flesh,  are  hung  ^*^on  high,  upon  canes  or  twigs  woven 
together,  to  dry  and  whiten  with  the  sun  and  rain.''  One  of 
the  most  distinguished  women  is  chosen  to  perform  the  dis- 
gusting office  of  making  the  skeleton,  and,  during  the  process, 
"the  Indians,  covered  with  long  mantles  of  skins,  and  their 
faces  blackened  by  soot,  walk  round  the  tent  with  long 
poles  or  lances  in  their  hands,  singing  in  a  mournful  tone  of 
voice  and  striking  the  ground,  to  frighten  away  the  Valichua 

or  evil  beings The  horses  of  the  dead  are  killed  that 

he  may  have  wherewithal  to  ride  upon  in  the  Alhue  Mapu, 
or  Country  of  the  Dead."  In  about  a  year  the  bones  are 
"packed  together  in  a  hide,  and  placed  upon  one  of  the 
deceased's  favourite  horses,  kept  alive  for  that  purpose,"  and 
in  this  manner  the  natives  bear  the  relics,  sometimes  to  a 
very  great  distance,  until  they  arrive  at  the  proper  burial 
place,  where  the  ancestors  of  the  dead  man  are  lying.  The 
bones  are  arranged  in  their  proper  positions,  and  fastened  by 
string.  The  skeleton  is  then  placed,  with  others,  in  a  squaro 
pit,  clothed  in  the  best  robes,  and  adorned  with  beads,  fea- 
thers, etc.  The  arms  of  the  deceased  are  buried  with  him^ 
*  Fitzroy,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  148.  t  Darwin's  Joiu-nal,  p.  129. 


636  THE    FUEGIANS. 

and  round  the  grave  are  ranged  several  dead  liorses,  raised 
on  their  feet,  aiffl  supported  with  sticks*.  Sometimes  a  cairn 
of  stones  is  raised  over  the  grave  f. 

Falkner  regarded  the  Patagonians  as  Polytheists,  but  we 
do  not  know  much  about  their  religion.  According  to  the 
missionaries,  neither  the  Patagonians  nor  the  Araucanians 
had  any  ideas  of  prayer,  or  "  any  vestige  of  religious 
worship  J." 

The  Fuegians. 

The  inhabitants  of  Tierra  del  Puego  are  even  more  de- 
graded than  those  of  the  main-land  :  in  fact,  they  have  been 
regarded  by  many  travellers  as  being  the  lowest  of  mankind  §. 
Adolph  Decker,  who  visited  Polynesia  and  Australasia  under 
Jaques  le  Hermite  in  1624,  describes  them  as  ^''rather  beasts 
than  men ;  for  they  tear  human  bodies  to  pieces,  and  eat  the 
flesh  raw  and  bloody  as  it  is.  There  is  not  the  least  spark 
of  religion  or  policy  to  be  observed  among  them  :  on  the 
contrary,  they  are  in  every  respect  brutal*^ — of  which  he 
proceeds  to  give  evidence  so  convincing,  that  I  refrain  from 
quoting  it||.     The  men  go  altogether  naked,  and  the  women 

have  only  a  bit  of  skin  about  their  middles  ; 

Their  huts  are  made  of  trees,  in  the  shape  of  tents  with  a 
hole  at  the  top  to  let  out  the  smoke.  Within  they  are  sunk 
two  or  three  feet  under  the  earth ;  and  the  mould  is  thrown 
upon  the  outside.  Their  fishing-tackle  is  very  curious,  and 
their  stone  hooks  very  nearly  the  same  shape  as  ours.  They 
are  differently  armed,  some  having  bows,  and  arrows  headed 
with  stone ;  others  have  long  jaVelins,  pointed  with  bone ; 
gome  again  have  great  wooden  clubs  j  and  some  have  slings, 

*  Falkner's  Patagonia,  pp.  118, 119.  World,  p.  80 ;  Wallis's  Voyage  round 

t  Fitzroy,  vol.  ii.  p.  158.  the  World,  p.    392 ;  Cook's   Voyage 

J  The  Voice  of  Pity,  vol.  ii.  pp.  to  the    South  Pole,  vol.   ii.  p.  187; 

37,  95.  Darwin's  Jouraal,  p.  235. 

§  Byron's     Voyage     round    the  |1  Callander's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  307. 


HUTS.       IMPLEMENTS.      WEAPONS.  537 

with  stone-knives,  which  are  very  sharp. '^  Their  arrows  are 
of  hard  wood,  straight  and  well  poHshed.  They  are  about 
two  feet  long,  and  are  tipped  with  a  piece  of  agate,  obsidian, 
or  glass;  the  head  not  being  fixed  to  the  shaft,  remains  in 
the  wound,  even  when  the  arrow  is  drawn  out.  The  bows 
are  from  three  to  four  feet  long,  and  quite  plain.  The  string 
is  made  of  twisted  sinews. 

Forstcr*  found  them  "  remarkably  stupid,  being  incapable 
of  understanding  any  of  our  signs,  which,  however,  were 
very  intelligible  to  the  nations  of  the  South  Sea."  Wallis, 
in  his  "Voyage  round  the  World f,"  describes  them  as 
follows  :  "  They  were  covered  with  seal-skins,  which  stunk 
abominably,  and  some  of  them  were  eating  the  rotten  flesh 
and  blubber  raw,  with  a  keen  appetite  and  great  seeming 
satisfaction,"  And  again  he  says,  "  Some  of  our  people, 
who  Avere  fishing  with  a  hook  and  line,  gave  one  of  them  a 
fish,  somewhat  bigger  than  a  herring,  alive,  just  as  it  came 
out  of  the  water.  The  Indian  took  it  hastily,  as  a  dog  would 
take  a  bone,  and  instantly  killed  it,  by  giving  it  a  bite  near 
the  gills :  he  then  proceeded  to  eat  it,  beginning  with  the 
head,  and  going  on  to  the  tail,  without  rejecting  either  the 
bones,  fins,  scales,  or  entrails  J."  Their  cookery  is,  if  possible, 
still  more  disgusting.  Fitzroy  tells  us  that  it  was  "  too 
ofiensive  "  for  description ;  and  the  account  given  by  Byron  § 
entirely  confirms  this  statement. 

The  men,  says  Fitzroy  ||,  "  are  low  in  stature,  ill-looking, 
and  badly  proportioned.  Their  colour  is  that  of  very  old 
mahogany — or  rather  between  dark  copper  and  bronze.  The 
trunk  of  the  body  is  large,  in  proportion  to  their  cramped 
and  rather  crooked  limbs.    Their  rough,  coarse,  and  extremely 

*  1.  c.  p.  251.  §  Byron's  Loss  of  the  "  Wager," 

t  Hawkesworth' 8  Voyages,  1.  c.  p.  p.  132. 
403.  II  Voyages    of    the    "Adventure" 

+  I.e.  p.  403.  and  "  Beagle,"  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


538 


POOD.      HABITS. 


dirty  black  hair  lialf  hides^  yet  heiglitens,  a  villanous  ex- 
pression of  tlie  -worst  description  of  savage  features.  The 
hair  of  the  women  is  longer^  less  coarse,  and  certainly  cleaner 
than  that  of  the  men.  It  is  combed  with  the  jaw  of  a  por- 
poise, but  neither  plaited  nor  tied ;  and  none  is  cut  away, 
excepting  from  over  their  eyes.  They  are  short,  with  bodies 
largely  out  of  proportion  to  their  height;  their  features, 
especially  those  of  the  old,  are  scarcely  less  disagreeable  than 
the  repulsive  ones  of  the  men.  About  four  feet  and  some 
inches  is  the  stature  of  these  she-Fuegians — by  courtesy  called 
women.  They  never  walk  upright ;  a  stooping  posture,  and 
awkward  movement  is  their  natural  gait.  They  may  be  fit 
mates  for  such  uncouth  men,  but  to  civilized  people  their 

appearance  is  disgusting 

The  smoke  of  wood  fires,  confined  in  small  wigwams,  hurts 
their  eyes  so  much,  that  they  are  red  and  watery  :  the  effects 
of  their  oiling  or  greasing  themselves,  and  then  rubbing 
ochre,  clay,  or  charcoal  over  their  bodies;  of  their  often 
feeding  upon  the  most  offensive  substances,  sometimes  in  a 
state  of  putridity ;  and  of  other  vile  habits,  may  readily  be 
imagined*.^'  Their  incisors  are  worn  flatf^  like  those  of  the 
Esquimaux  and  of  many  ancient  races. 

"  The  men  procure  food  of  the  larger  kind,  such  as  seal, 
otter,  porpoise,  etc. ;  they  break  or  cut  wood  and  bark  for 
fuel,  as  well  as  for  building  the  wigwams  or  canoes.  They 
go  out  at  night  to  get  birds ;  they  train  the  dogs,  and  of 
course  undertake  all  hunting  or  warlike  excursions.  The 
women  nurse  their  children,  attend  the  fire  (feeding  it  with 
dead  wood  rather  than  green,  on  account  of  the  smoke), 
make  baskets  and  water-buckets,  fishing-lines  and  necklaces, 
go  out  to  catch  stnall  fish  in  their  canoes,  gather  shell-fish, 
dive  for  sea-eggs,  take  care  of  their  canoes,  upon  ordinary 


«  1.  c.  p.  139. 


+  Fitzroy,  Appendix,  p.  144. 


MODE    OP    FISHING.  539 

occasions  paddle  their  masters  about  while  they  sit  idle,  and 
do  any  other  drudgery*." 

"  Swimming  is  a  favourite  amusement  of  the  Fuegians 
during  summer ;  but  the  unfortunate  women  are  obliged  to 
go  out  into  rather  deep  water_,  and  dive  for  sea-eggs  in  the 
depth  of  winter  as  often  as  in  summer.  Men,  women,  and 
children  are  excellent  swimmers,  but  they  all  swim  like 
dogs." 

"When  there  is  time,  the  natives  roast  their  shell-fish, 
and  half-roast  any  other  food  that  is  of  a  solid  nature ;  but 
when  in  haste,  they  eat  fish,  as  well  as  meat,  in  a  raw  state. 

Both  seal  and  porpoises  are  speared 

by  them  from  their  canoes.  When  struck,  the  fish  usually 
run  into  the  kelp,  with  the  spear  floating  on  the  water,  being 
attached  by  a  short  line  to  a  movable  barb  :  and  then  the 
men  follow  with  their  canoe,  seize  the  spear,  and  tow  by  it 
till  the  fish  is  dead.  To  them  the  taking  of  a  seal  or  a 
porpoise  is  a  matter  of  as  much  consequence  as  the  capture 
of  a  whale  is  to  our  countrymen.  On  moonlight  nights, 
birds  are  caught  when  roosting,  not  only  by  the  men,  but  by 
their  dogs,  which  are  sent  out  to  seize  them  while  asleep  upon 
the  rocks  or  beach :  and  so  well  are  these  dogs,  trained  that 
they  bring  all  they  catch  safely  to  their  masters,  without 
making  any  noise,  and  then  return  for  another  mouthful. 
Birds  are  also  frequently  killed  with  arrows  or  by  stones 
slung  at  them  with  unerring  aim.  Eggs  are  largely  sought 
for  by  the  natives  ;  indeed  I  may  say  that  they  eat  any  thing 
and  every  thing  that  is  eatable,  without  being  particular 
as  to  its  state  of  freshness,  or  as  to  its  having  been  near  the 
firef." 

According  to  Byi-on  the  dogs  of  the  Chonos  Indians  assist 
in  killing  fish  as  well  as  birds.     They  are,  he  says,  "cur-like 
looking  animals,  but  very  sagacious,  and  easily  trained  to 
•  Fiiztoj,  1.  c.  p.  185.  t  Fitzroj,  1.  c.  p.  184 


540 


FOOD.       HABITS. 


'/I'M 


this  business The  net  is  held  by  two  Indians^  who 

get  into  the  water ;  then  the  dogs,  taking  a  large  compass. 
Fig.  226.  ^^^®  after  the  fish,  and  drive  them  into  the  net ;  but 
it  is  only  in  particular  places  that  the  fish  are  taken 
in  this  manner."  He  adds  that  the  dogs,  "  enjoy  it 
much,  and  express  their  eagerness  by  barking  every 
time  they  raise  their  heads  above  the  water  to 
breathe*." 

"  In  the  winter,  when  the  snow  lies  deep,  the  Te- 
keenica  people'assemble  to  hunt  the  guanaco,  which 
then  comes  down  from  the  high  lands  to  seek  for 
pasture  near  the  sea.  The  long  legs  of  the  animal 
stick  deeply  into  the  snow  and  soft  boggy  ground, 
disabling  him  from  escape,  while  the  Fuegians  and 
their  dogs  hem  h%a  in  on  every  side,  and  quickly 

make  him  their  prey 

At  other  times  of  the  year  they  sometimes  get  them 
by  lying  in  wait,  and  shooting  them  with  arrows, 
or  by  getting  into  a  tree  near  their  track,  and 
spearing  them  as  they  pass  beneath  the  branches. 
An  arrow  was  shown  to  Low,  which  was  marked 
with  blood  two-thirds  of  its  length  in  wounding  a 
guanaco,  afterwards  caught  by  dogs.  Low  held  out 
his  jacket,  making  signs  that  the  arrow  would  not 
penetrate  it ;  upon  which  the  native  pointed  to  his 
eye  f."  Fig.  226  represents  the  head  of  a  Fuegian 
harpoon,  which  closely  resembles  the  ancient  Danish 
specimen  figui-ed  in  p.  105. 

Of  vegetable  food  they  have  very  little :  a  few 
berries,  cranberries,  those  which  grow  on  the  arbu- 
tus, and  a  kind  of  fungus  which  is  found  on  the 
beech,  being  the  only  sorts  used.     The  wretched 


fm 


nm 


Bone 
Harpoon. 


*  Byron's  Loss  of  tte  "  Wager." 
In  Kerr's  Voyages  and  Travels,  vol. 


xvii.  pp.  339,  368,  463. 
t  Fitzroy,  1.  c.  p.  187. 


CANNIBALISM.      ABSENCE    OF    RELIGION.  541 

Fuegians  often  suffer  greatly  from  famine.  On  one  occasion 
wlien  the  Chonos  were  in  great  distress  on  this  account,  a 
small  party  went  away,  and  the  natives  said  that  in  four 
sleeps  they  would  return  with  food.  On  the  fifth  day  they 
came  back  almost  dead  with  fatigue,  and  "  each  man  having 
two  or  three  great  pieces  of  whale-blubber,  shaped  like  a 
poncho  with  a  hole  in  the  middle,  on  his  shoulders.  The 
blubber  was  half  putrid,  and  looked  as  if  it  had  been  buried 
underground.^^  Notwithstanding  this,  it  was  cut  into  slices, 
broiled,  and  eaten.  On  another  occasion  masses  of  blubber 
were  found  in  sand,  doubtless  laid  in  store  for  a  season  of 
want.  Their  principal  food,  however,  consists  of  limpets, 
mussels,  and  other  shell-fish. 

Admiral  Fitzroy  entertains  no  doubt  that  the  Fuegians  are 
cannibals.  '' Almost*  always  at  war  with  adjoining  tribes, 
they  seldom  meet  but  a  hostile  encounter  is  the  result ;  and 
then  those  who  are  vanquished  and  taken,  if  not  already 
dead,  are  killed  and  eaten  by  the  conquerors.  The  arms  and 
breast  are  eaten  by  the  women ;  the  men  eat  the  legs,  and 
the  trunk  is  thrown  into  the  sea."  Again,  in  severe  winters, 
when  they  can  obtain  no  other  food,  they  take  "  the  oldest 
woman  of  their  party,  hold  her  head  over  a  thick  smoke, 
made  by  burning  green  wood,  and  pinching  her  throat, 
choke  her.  They  then  devour  every  particle  of  the  flesh, 
not  excepting  the  trunk,  as  in  the  former  case."  When 
asked  why  they  did  not  rather  kill  their  dogs,  they  said, 
"  Dog  catch  iappo,"  i.  e.  otters. 

Like  Decker,  Admiral  Fitzroy  ''  never  witnessed  or  heard 
of  any  act  of  a  decidedly  religious  nature  f."  Still  some  of 
the  natives  suppose  that  there  is  a  powerful  and  mysterious 
being  who  resides  in  the  woods.     When  a  person  dies,  they 


*  1.  c.  p.  183.  South   Pole,  p.   179 ;   The  Voice  of 

t  See    also  Woddell,    Voyage  to       Pity,  vol.  vi.  p.  92,  Ac. 


642 


CAi^OES.       DRESS. 


carry  the  body  far  into  the  woods  *j  "  place  it  upon  some 
broken  boughs^  or  pieces  of  solid  wood,  and  then  pile  a  great 
quantity  of  branches  over  the  corpse/^ 

Their  canoes  are  large  pieces  of  bark  sewn  together.  In 
the  bottom  they  make  a  fireplace  of  clay,  for  they  always 
keep  fires  alight,  though  with  the  help  of  iron  pyrites  they 
soon  obtain  sparks  if  any  accident  happens.  The  Chonos 
Indians,  who  in  most  respects  resemble  the  Fuegians,  have 
much  better  canoes.  These  are  formed  of  planks,  which  are 
generally  five  in  number,  two  on  each  side  and  one  at  the 
bottom.  Along  the  edges  of  each  are  small  holes  about  an 
inch  apart.  The  planks  are  sewn  together  with  woodbine, 
the  holes  being  filled  with  a  kind  of  bark  beaten  up  until  it 
resembles  oakum.  Byron  truly  observes  that  in  the  absence 
of  metab  "the  labour  must  be  great  of  hacking  a  single 
plank  out  of  a  large  tree  with  shells  and  flints,  even  though 
with  the  help  of  fire." 

The  Fuegians  have  no  pottery,  but  like  the  North  Ameri- 
can Indians  use  vessels  made  of  birch,  or  rather  of  beech- 
bark.  On  the  east  coast  many  of  the  natives  possess 
guanaco-skins,  and  on  the  west  some  of  them  wear  seal- 
skins. "  Amongst  the  central  tribes  the  men  generally 
possess  an  otter-skin,  or  some  small  scrap  about  as  large  as 
a  pocket-handkerchief,  which  is  barely  sufiicient  to  cover 
their  backs  as  low  down  as  their  loins.  It  is  laced  across 
the  breast  by  strings,  and  according  as  the  wind  blows,  it  is 
shifted  from  side  to  side  f."  Many,  however,  even  of  the 
women,  go  absolutely  without  clothes.  Yet,  as  Captain  Cook 
quaintly  expresses  it,  "  although  they  are  content  to  be  naked, 
they  are  very  ambitious  to  be  fine ;"  for  which  purpose  they 
adorn  themselves  with  streaks  of  red,  black,  and  white,  and 
the  men  as  well  as  the  women  wear  bracelets  and  anklets  of 


*  1.  c.  p.  181. 

t  Darwin's  Researches  in  Geology  and  Natural  History,  p.  234. 


FIEE.  543 

shell  and  bone.  Dr.  Hooker  informs  us  that  at  tlie  extreme 
south  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and  in  mid-winter,  he  has  often 
seen  the  men  lying  asleep  in  their  wigwams,  without  a  scrap 
of  clothing,  and  the  women  standing  naked,  and  some  with 
children  at  their  breasts,  in  the  water  up  to  their  middles, 
gathering  limpets  and  other  shell-fish,  while  the  snow  fell 
thickly  on  them  and  on  their  equally  naked  babies.  In  fact, 
fire  docs  not  appear  to  be  necessary  with  them,  nor  do  they 
use  it  to  warm  the  air  of  their  huts  as  we  do,  though  some- 
times as  a  luxury  they  take  advantage  of  it  to  toast  their 
hands  or  feet.  Doubtless,  however,  if  deprived  of  this  source 
of  warmth,  they  would  die  of  starvation  rather  oftener  than  is 
now  the  case. 

If  not  the  lowest,  the  Fuegians  certainly  appear  to  be 
among  the  most  miserable  specimens  of  the  human  race,  and 
the  habits  of  this  people  are  of  especial  interest  from  their 
probable  similarity  to  those  of  the  ancient  Danish  shell- 
mound  builders,  who,  however,  were  in  some  respects  rather 
more  advanced,  being  acquainted  with  the  art  of  making, 
pottery. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MODEEN  SAVAGES — concluded. 

N  reading  almost  any  account  of  savages^  it  is  impossible 
not  to  admire  the  skill  with  which  they  use  their 
weapons  and  implements,  their  ingenuity  in  hunting  and 
fishing,  their  close  and  accurate  powers  of  observation. 
Some  savages  even  recognize  individuals  by  their  footsteps. 
Thus  Mr.  Laing  mentions  *  that  one  day  while  travelling 
near  Moreton  Bay  in  Australia,  he  pointed  to  a  footstep,  and 
asked  whose  it  was.  The  guide  '^glanced  at  it,  without 
stopping  his  horse,  and  at  once  answered,  '  Whitefellow  call 
him  Tiger.^ "  This  turned  out  to  be  correct,  which  was  the 
more  remarkable  as  the  two  men  belonged  to  different  titbes, 
and  had  not  met  for  two  years.  Among  the  Arabs,  Burck- 
hardt  asserts  f  that  some  men  know  every  individual  in  the 
tribe  by  his  footstep.  "  Besides  this,  every  Arab  knows  the 
printed  footsteps  of  his  own  camels,  and  of  those  belonging 
to  his  immediate  neighbours.  He  knows  by  the  depth  or 
slightness  of  the  impression  whether  a  camel  was  pasturing, 
and  therefore  not  carrying  any  load,  or  mounted  by  one 
person  only,  or  heavily  loaded.^^  The  North  American  Indian 
will  send  an  arrow  right  through  a  horse,  or  even  a  buffalo. 
The  African  savage  will  kill  the  elephant,  and  the  Chinook 
fears  not  to  attack  even  the  whale.  Captain  Grey  tells  us 
that  he  has  often  seen  the  Australians  kill  a  pigeon  with  a 

*  Aborigines  of  Australia,  p.  24.  f  Bedouins  and  Wahalys,  p.  374. 


SKILFULNESS    OF    SAVAGES.  545 

spear,  at  a   distance   of  thirty  paces  *.     Speaking   of  the 
Cliamisso   Island  Esquimaux,  Beechey  says  that  one  day  a 
Diver  was  swimming  at  a  distance  of  thirty  yards  from  the  * 
beach,  and  a  native  was  offered  a  reward  if  he  could  shoot  it. 
He  immediately  frightened  it  so  that  it  dived,  and  directly  it 
reappeared,  he  transfixed  both  eyes  with  an  arrow  f-    Speak- 
ing of  the  Australians,  Mr.  Stanbridge  asserts  that  "  it  is  a 
favourite  feat  on  the  Murray  to  dive  into  the  river,  spear  in 
hand,  and  come  up  with  a  fish  upon  it  |."     Woodes  Rogers 
says  that  the  Californian  Indians  used  to  dive,  and  strike  the 
fish  under  water  with  wooden  spears  §,  and  Falkner||  tells  us 
that  some  of  the  Patagonian  tribes  live  chiefly  on  fish,  "  which 
they  catch  cither  by  diving,  or  striking  them  with  their  darts.^' 
Tertre  again  says  the  same  of  the  Cai-ibs  ^,  and  Wallace  of 
the  Brazilian  Indians  **.     The  South  Sea  Islanders  are  par- 
ticularly active  in   the  water.     They  dive  after  fish  which 
"  takes  refuge  under  the  coral  rock ;  thither  the  diver  pur- 
sues him,  and  brings  him  up  with  a  finger  in  each  eye  ff" 
They  are  even  more  than  a  match  for  the  shark,  which  they 
attack  fearlessly  with  a  knife.     If  they  are  unarmed  "  they 
all  surround,  him  and  force  him  ashore,  if  they  can  but  once 
get  him  into  the  surf;"  but  even  if  he  escapes  they  con- 
tinue their  bathing  without  the  least  fear  J  J.     Ellis    more 
cautiously  says   only,   that   "  when  armed  they  have  ■some- 
times been  known  to  attack  a  shark  in  the  water  §§."     The 
Andaman  Islanders  also  are  said  to  dive  and  catch  fish  under 
water  11(1;    and   Rutherford   makes  a  similar   statement   as 
regards   the  New  Zealanders.     Dobritzhofier  tells  us  that 

*  Grey,  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  285.  1  Hist,  of  the  Carriby  Is.  p.  305. 

f  Beechey' s  Narrative,  vol.  ii.    p.  **  Travels  on  the  Amazon,  p.  488. 

574.  tt  Wilson,  1.  c.  p.  385. 

X  On  tho  Aborigines  of  Victoria.  tJ  I.e.  p.  368. 

Ethn.  Trans.  New  Ser.  vol.i.  p.  293.  §§  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  L 

§  Callander's  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  p.  p.  178. 

331.  •  nil  Mouat,  I.e.  pp.  310.  333. 

II  Patagonia,  p.  111. 

37 


546  SKILFULNESS    OF    SAVAGES. 

the  Payajuas  and  Vilelas  live  principally  on  fish,  using 
a  small  net  with  which  they  dive,  "and  if  they  spy  any 
fish  at  the  bottom,  swim  after  it,  catch  it  in  the  net,"  and 
so  bring  it  to  shore*.  The  Esquimaux  in  his  kayak  will 
actually  turn  somersaults  in  the  water.  Skyringf  saw  a 
Fuegian  who  "  threw  stones  from  each  hand  with  astonish- 
ing force  and  precision.  His  first  stone  struck  the  master 
with  much  force,  broke  a  powder-horn  which  hung  round  his 
neck,  and  nearly  knocked  him  backwards."  In  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  Hottentots,  Kolben  says  |,  that  their  dexterity  in 
throwing  the  "hassagaye  and  rackum-stick,  strikes  every 
witness  of  it  with  the  highest  admiration If  a  Hot- 
tentot, in  the  chase  of  a  hare,  deer,  or  wild  goat,  comes  but 
within  thirty  or  forty  yards  of  the  creature,  away  flies  the 
rackum-stick  and  down  falls  the  creature,  generally  pierced 
quite  through  the  body."  The  death  of  Goliath  is  a  weU- 
known  instance  of  skill  in  the  use  of  the  sling ;  and  we  are 
told  also  that  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  there  was  a  corps  of 
"  seven  hundred  chosen  men  lefthanded ;  every  one  could 
sling  stones  at  an  hair-breadth,  and  not  miss  §."  The  Bra- 
zilian Indians  kill  turtles  with  bows  and  arrows ;  but  if  they 
aimed  direct  at  the  animal,  the  arrow  would  glance  off  the 
smooth  hard  shell,  therefore  they  shoot  up  into  the  air,  so 
that  the  arrow  falls  nearly  vertically  on  the  shell,  which  it  is 
thus  enabled  to  penetrate  ||. 

What  an  amount  of  practice  must  be  required  to  obtain 
such  skill  as  this !  How  true  also  must  the  weapons  be !  , 
Indeed,  it  is  very  evident  that  each  distinct  type  of  flint 
implement  must  have  been,  designed  for  some  distinct  pur- 
pose. Thus  the  different  forms  of  arrowhead,  of  harpoon,  or 
of  stone  axe,  cannot  have  been  intended  to  be  used  in  the 

*  History  of  the  Abipones,  vol.  i.  J  Kolben,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  243. 

p.  343.  §  Judges  *x.  16. 

+  Fitzroy,  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  398.  Jj  Wallace's  Amazon,  p.  466. 


VARIETIES    OP    IMPLEMENTS.  547 

« 

same  manner.  Among  the  North  American  Indians  the 
arrows  used  in  hunting  were  so  made  that  when  the  shaft 
was  drawn  out  of  the  wound  the  head  came  out  also ;  while 
in  the  war  arrows  the  shaft  tapered  to  the  end,  so  that  even 
when  it  was  withdrawn  the  head  of  the  arrow  remained  in 
the  wound.  Again,  the  different  forms  of  harpoons  are 
illustrated  by  the  barbed  and  unbarbed  lances  of  the  Esqui- 
maux (ante,  p.  504).  Unfortunately,  however,  we  have  but 
few  details  of  this  kind ;  travellers  have  generally  thought  it 
unnecessary  to  observe  or  record  these  apparently  unimpor- 
tant details ;  and  that  our  knowledge  of  flint  implements  i0 
most  rudimentary,  is  well  shown  by  the  discussion  between 
Professors .  Steenstrup  and  Worsaae,  whether  the  so-called 
"axes"  of  the  shell-mounds  were  really  axes,  or  whether 
they  were  not  rather  used  in  fishing. 

We  may  hope,  however,  that  in  future  those  who  have  the 
opportunity  of  observing  stone  implements  among  modern 
savages  will  give  us  more  detailed  information  both  as  to 
the  exact  manner  in  which  they  are  used,  and  also  about 
the  way  in  which  they  are  made;  that  they  will  collect  not 
only  the  well-made  weapons,  but  also,  and  even  more  care- 
fully, the  humble  implements  of  every-day  life. 

Some  archaeologists  have  argued  that  the  shell-mound 
builders  of  Denmark  must  have  possessed  more  formidable 
weapons  than  any  that  have  yet  been  found,  because  it  was 
considered  impossible  that  they  could  have  killed  large 
game,  as,  for  instance,  the  bull  and  seal,  with  the  simple 
weapons  of  bone  and  stone,  which  alone  have  hitherto  been 
discovered.  Professor  Worsaae*,  even  goes  so  far  as  to  say, 
"  Against  birds  and  other  small  creatures  these  stone  arrows 
might  prove  effectual,  but  against  larger  animals,  such  as 
the  aurochs,  the  elk,  the  reindeer,  the  stag,  and  the  wild 
boar,   they  were   evidently   insufficient;   particularly   since 

*  Pasre  18. 


548  ART    or    DRILLING. 

these  animals  often  become  fm-ious  as  soon  as  they  are 
struck."  I  can^  however,  by  no  means  agree  with  Professor 
Worsaae  in  this  supposition ;  we  know,  on  the  contrary, 
that  modern  savages  are  able  to  kill  even  the  largest  game 
with  arrows  and  spears  tipped  with  stone.  Knives,  again, 
of  stone,  are  much  more  effective  than  might  at  first  be  ex- 
pected, and  many  savage  tribes  readily  cut  flesh  with  pieces 
of  shell  or  of  hard  wood. 

The  neatness  with  which  the  Hottentots,  Esquimaux, 
North  American  Indians,  etc.,  are  able  to  sew  is  very  re- 
Iknarkable,  although  awls  and  sinews  would  in  our  hands  be 
but  poor  substitutes  for  needles  and  thread.  As  already 
mentioned  in  p.  332,  some  cautious  archaeologists  hesitated 
to  refer  the  reindeer  caves  of  the  Dordogne  to  the  Stone 
Age,  on  account  of  the  bone  needles  and  the  works  of  art 
which  are  found  in  them.  The  eyes  of  the  needles  especially, 
they  thought,  could  only  be  made  with  metallic  implements. 
Professor  Lartet  ingeniously  removed  these  doubts  by 
making  a  similar  needle  for  himself  with  the  help  of  flint ; 
but  he  might  have  referred  to  the  fact  stated  by  Cook*  in 
his  first  voyage,  that  the  New  Zealanders  succeeded  in  drill- 
ing a  hole  through  a  piece  of  glass  which  he  had  given 
them,  using  for  this  purpose,  as  he  supposed,  a  piece  of 
jasper. 

The  Brazilians  also  use  ornaments  of  imperfectly  crystal- 
lized quartz,  from  four  to  eight  inches  long  and  about  an 
inch  in  diameter.  Hard  as  it  is,  they  contrive  to  drill  a  hole 
at  each  end,  using  for  that  purpose  the  pointed  leaf-shoot  of 
the  large  wild  plantain,  with  sand  and  water.  The  hole  is 
generally  transverse,  but  the  ornaments  of  the  chiefs  are 
actually  pierced  lengthways.  This,  Mr.  Wallace  thinks, 
must  be  a  work  of  years  f . 

The  works  of  art  found  in  the  Dordogne  caves  are  little 
*  Vol.  iii.  p.  464.  f  Travels  on  the  Amazon,  p.  278. 


IMPORTANT   WORKS    ERECTED    BY    SAVAGES.  549 

ruder  than  those  of  the  Esquimaux  or  the  North  American 
Indians.  In  fact,  the  appreciation  of  art  is  to  be  regarded 
rather  as  an  ethnological  characteristic  than  as  an  indication 
of  any  particular  stage  in  civilization.  We  see,  again,  that 
in  many  cases  a  certain  knowledge  of  agriculture  has  pre- 
ceded the  use  of  metals ;  and  the  fortifications  of  New  Zea- 
land, as  well  as  the  large  morais  of  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
are  arguments  in  favour  of  the  theory  which  ascribes  some 
of  our  camps,  our  great  tumuli,  and  other  Druidical  remains, 
to  the  later  part  of  the  Stone  Age.  The  great  morai  of 
Oberea,  in  Tahiti,  has  been  already  described  (p.  483). 
Again,  the  celebrated  statues  of  Easter  Island  are  really 
colossal.  One  of  them,  which  has  fallen  down,  measures 
twenty-seven  feet  long,  and  others  appear  to  be  even  larger. 
The  houses  of  the  Ladrone  Islanders,  also,  are  very  remark- 
able. The  larger  ones  were  supported  on  strong  pyramids 
of  stone.  These  were,  according  to  Freycinet*,  in  one  piece, 
made  of  chalk,  sand,  or  largo  stones,  imbedded  in  a  kind  of 
cement.  They  were  found  in  large  numbers ;  in  one  case 
they  formed  a  stone  row  four  hundred  yards  long.  They 
were  first  described  by  Anson,  who  saw  many  which  were 
thirteen  feet  in  height ;  while  one  of  those  seen  by  Freycinet 
measured  as  much  as  twenty  feet.  They  were  square  at 
the  base,  and  rested  on  the  ground.  On  each  pillar  was  a 
hemisphere,  with  the  flat  side  upwards.  The  South  Sea 
Islanders  afford,  indeed,  wonderful  instances  of  what  can  be 
accomplished  with  stone  implements.  Their  houses  are 
large  and  often  well  built,  and  their  canoes  have  excited  the 
wonder  of  all  who  have  seen  them. 

Although,  then,  the  use  of  stone  as  the  principal  material 
of  implements  and  weapons  may  be  regarded  as  charac- 
terizing an  early  stage  in  the  development  of  civilization, 
still,  it  is  evident  that  this  stage  is  itself  susceptible  of  much 

*  Vol.  ii.  p.  318. 


550  DIFFEEENCES    IN    THE    STONE    AGE. 

subdivision.  The  Mincopie  or  tlie  Australian^  for  instance, 
is  not  to  be  compared  for  an  instant  with  the  semi-civilized 
native  of  the  Society  Islands.  So  also  in  the  ancient  Stone 
Age  of  Europe,  we  find  evidences  of  great  difference.  The 
savage  inhabitants  of  the  South  French  caves  had,  according 
to  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet,  no  domestic  animals,  and  no 
knowledge  of  pottery  or  agriculture.  The  shell-mound 
builders  of  Denmark  had  the  dog;  the  Swiss  Lake-dwellers 
also  possessed  this  animal,  together  with  the  ox,  sheep,  and 
pig,  perhaps  even  the  horse ;  they  had  a  certain  knowledge 
of  agriculture,  and  were  acquainted  with  the  art  of  weaving. 
Thus,  then,  even  when  we  have  satisfied  ourselves  that  any 
given  remains  belong  to  the  Stone  Age,  we  are  still  but  on 
the  threshold  of  our  inquiry. 

Travellers  and  naturalists  have  varied  a  good  deal  in 
opinion  as  to  the  race  of  savages  which  is  entitled  to  the 
unenviable  reputation  of  being  the  lowest  in  the  scale  of 
civilization.  Cook,  Darwin,  Fitzroy,  and  Wallis  were  de- 
cidedly in  favour,  if  I  may  so  say,  of  the  Fuegian ;  Burchell 
maintained  that  the  Bushmen  are  the  lowest;  D'Urville 
voted  for  the  Australians  and  Tasmanians;  Dampier  thought 
the  Australians  ^Hhe  miserablest  people  in  the  world;" 
Forster  said  that  the  people  of  Mallicollo  "bordered  the 
nearest  upon  the  tribe  of  monkeys ;"  Owen  inclines  to  the 
Andamaners;  others  have  supported  the  North  American 
Root-diggers;  and  one  French  writer  even  insinuates  that 
monkeys  are  more  human  than  Laplanders. 

The  civilization,  moreover,  of  the  Stone  Age  differs  not 
only  in  degree,  but  also  in  kind,  varying  according  to  the 
climate,  vegetation,  food,  etc. ;  ft'om  which  it  becomes  evi- 
dent— at  least  to  all  those  who  believe  in  the  unity  of  the 
human  race — that  the  present  habits  of  savage  races  are  not  to 
be  regarded  as  representing  exactly  those  which  characterized 
the  first  men,  but  as  depending  also  on  external  conditions. 


DIFFERENT    LINES    OP    CIVILIZATION.  551 

influenced  indeed  to  a  certain  extent  by  national  character, 
which,  however,  is  after  all  but  the  result  of  the  external 
conditions  which  have  acted  on  previous  generations. 

If  we  take  a  few  of  the  things  which  are  most  generally 
useful  in  savage  life,  and  at  the  same  time  most  easily  ob- 
tainable, such,  for  instance,  as  bows  and  arrows,  slings, 
spear-casters,  pottery,  domestic  animals,  or  a  knowledge 
of  agriculture,  we  might  perhaps  have  expected  a  priori  that 
the  acquisition  of  them  would  have  followed  some  regular 
succession.  That  this,  however,  was  not  the  case  is  shown 
by  the  annexed  table,  which  will,  I  think,  be  found  inte- 
resting. It  gives  some  idea  of  the  progress  made  by  various 
savage  tribes,  at  the  time  when  they  were  first  visited  by 
Europeans. 

Some  of  the  differences  exhibited  in  this  table  may  indeed 
be  easily  accounted  for.  The  frozen  soil  and  arctic  climate 
of  the  Esquimaux  would  not  encourage,  would  not  even 
permit,  any  agriculture.  So,  again,  the  absence  of  hogs  in 
New  Zealand,  of  dogs  in  the  Friendly  Isles,  and  of  all 
mammalia  in  Easter  Island,  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  original  colonists  did  not  possess  these  animals,  and  that 
their  isolated  position  prevented  them  afterwards  from  ob- 
taining any.  Moreover,  we  must  remember  that  as  a  general 
rule,  the  lowest  savage  can  only  use  one  or  two  weapons. 
He  is  limited  to  those  which  he  can  carry  about  with  him, 
and  naturally  prefers  those  which  are  of  most  general  utility*. 
We  cannot,  however,  in  this  manner,  account  for  all  the  facts. 
In  Columbia,  Australia,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  else- 
where, agriculture  was  unknown  before  the  advent  of  Euro- 
peans. Easter  Island,  on  the  contrary,  contained  large 
plantations  of  sweet  potatoes,  yams,  plantains,  sugar-canes, 
etc.     Yet  the  Chinooks  of  Columbia  had  bows  and  arrows, 

*  "Weapons  of  war  depending  very  probably  more  liable  to  change  than 
much  on  the  caprice  of  chiefs,  are       those  used  in  hunting. 


552  DIFFERENT   LINES 

fisB-liooks,  and  nets;  tlie  Australians  had  throwing- sticks, 
boomerangs,  fish-hooks,  and  nets ;  the  Hottentots  had  bows 
and  arrows,  nets,  fish-hooks,  pottery,  and  at  last  even  a 
certain  knowledge  of  iron ;  all  of  which  seem  to  have  been 
unknown  to  the  Easter  Islanders,  though  they  would  have 
been  very  useful,  and,  excepting  the  iron,  might  have  been 
invented  and  used  by  them. 

If  the  case  of  Easter  Island  stood  alone,  the  absence  of 
bows. and  arrows  might,  perhaps,  be  plausibly  accounted  for 
by  the  absence  of  game,  the  scarcity  of  birds,  and  the 
isolation  of  the  little  island,  which  rendered  war  almost 
impossible.  But  such  an  argument  cannot  be  applied  to 
other  cases  which  are  indicated  in  the  table.  Let  us  com- 
pare, for  instance,  the  Atlantic  tribes  of  North  American 
Indians,  the  Australians,  Caffi-es,  Bushmen,  New  Zealanders, 
and  Society  Islanders.  All  these  were  constantly  at  war, 
and  the  two  first  lived  very  much  on  the  produce  of  the 
chase.  They  at  least  had  therefore  similar  wants.  Yet 
spears  and  perhaps  clubs  were  the  only  weapons  which  they 
had  in  common ;  the  North  Americans  had  good  bows  and 
arrows,  the  Society  Islanders  and  Bushmen  had  bad  ones — 
in  fact,  those  of  the  former  were  so  weak  as  to  be  useless 
in  war — the  Australians,  Caffres,  and  New  Zealanders,  had 
none.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Australians  had  the  throwing- 
stick  and  the  boomerang ;  the  Society  Islanders  used  slings ; 
and  the  New  Zealanders,  besides  very  efiective  clubs,  had 
numerous  and  extensive  fortifications.  It  is  certainly  most 
remarkable  that  tribes  so  warlike,  and  in  many  respects  so 
advanced,  as  the  New  Zealanders  and  Cafires,  should  have 
beeji  ignorant  of  bows  and  arrows,  which  were  used  by  many 
very  low  races,  such  as  the  Fuegians,  the  Chinooks,  the 
Andamaners,  and  Bushmen ;  particularly  as  it  is  impossible 
to  doubt  that  the  New  Zealanders  at  least  would  have  found 
bows  of  great  use,  and  that  any  of  their  tribes,  having  in- 


OP  CIVILIZATION. 


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554  ISOLATION  OP  SAVAGES. 

vented  them,  would  have  had  an  immense  advantage  in  the 
"  struggle  for  existence."  Other  similar  contrasts  will  strike 
any  one  who  examines  the  table ;  but  perhaps  it  may  be  said 
that  some  of  these  cases  may  be  explained  by  the  influence 
of  more  civilized  neighbours;  that  the  comparison  above- 
made,  for  instance,  might  be  regarded  as  unfair,  because  the 
New  Zealanders  were  an  isolated  race,  while  the  Chinooks 
might  have  derived  their  knowledge  of  bows  and  arrows 
from  the  eastern  tribes,  and  these  agaia  might  have  acquired 
the  art  of  making  pottery  from  the  semi-civilized  nations  of 
the  south.  No  one  can  deny  that  this  may  be  true  in  some 
instances, , because  we  know  that  at  the  present  day  most 
savages  possess  hatchets,  knives,  beads,  etc.,  which  they  have 
received  from  traders,  and  which  they  cannot  yet  manufac- 
ture for  themselves. 

It  is  certainly  possible  that  the  Chinooks  may  have  derived 
their  knowledge  of  the  bow  from  their  northern  neighbours ; 
but  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  they  did  so  from  the  Eed 
Indian  tribes  to  the  east,  because  in  that  case  it  is  difficult  to 
understand  why  they  should  not  also  have  learnt  from  these 
the  much  simpler,  and  almost  equally  useful,  art  of  making 
pottery.  Moreover  there  are  some  cases  in  which  any  such 
idea  is  absolutely  out  of  the  question;  thus,  the  spear- 
caster  is  used  by  the  Esquimaux,  the  Australians,  the  New 
Caledonians,  and  some  Brazilian  tribes,  the  bolas  by  the 
Esquimaux  and  the  Patagonians ;  the  boomerang  is  peculiar 
to  the  Australians*.  The  "  sump itan  "  or  blow-pipe  of  the 
Malays  occurs  again  in  the  valley  of  the  Amazon.  Again, 
different  races  of  savages  have  but  little  peaceful  intercourse 
with  one  another.  They  are  almost  always  at  war.  If  their 
habits  are  similar,  they  are  deadly  rivals,  fighting  for  the 

*  The  negroes  of  Kiam  Niam  have  But  these  do  not  appear  to  possess 
iron  crescents  resembling  boome-  the  peciiliar  properties  of  the  boome- 
rangs, which    are    thrown  in  war.       rang. 

\ 


ISOLATION    OF    SAVAGES.  555 

best  hunting-grounds  or  fisheries  ;  if  their  wants  are  different, 
they  fight  for  slaves,  for  women,  for  ornaments ;  or  if  they 
do  not  care  about  any  of  these,  for  the  mere  love  of  fighting, 
for  scalps,  heads,  or  some  other  recognized  emblems  of  glory. 
In  this  condition  of  society  each  tribe  lives  in  a  state  either 
of  isolation  from,  or  enmity  with,  its  neighbours.  Dclenda 
est  Carihago  is  the  universal  motto,  and  savages  can  only 
live  in  peace  when  they  have  a  little  world  of  their  own. 
Sometimes  a  broad  sea,  or  a  high  range  of  mountains,  at 
others  a  wide  "  march  "  or  neutral  territory  supply  the  neces- 
sary conditions,  and  keep  them  apart.  They  meet  only  to 
fight,  and  are  therefore  not  likely  to  learn  much  from  one 
another.  Moreover,  there  are  cases  in  which  some  tribes 
have  weapons  which  are  quite  unknown  to  their  neighbours. 
Thus,  among  the  Brazilian  tribes  we  find  the  bow  and  arrow, 
the  blow-pipe,  the  lasso,  and  the  throwing-stick.  The  first 
is  the  most  general,  but  the  Barbados  use  only  the  blow-pipe, 
the  Moxos  have  abandoned  the  bow  and  arrow  for  the  lasso, 
and  the  Purupurus  are  distinguished  from  all  their  neigh- 
bours by  using,  not  bows  and  arrows,  but  the  "  palheta,''  or 
throwing-stick.  Again,  the  Caffres  have  not  generally 
adopted  the  bows  and  arrows  of  the  Bushmen ;  the  Esqui- 
maux have  not  acquired  the  art  of  making  pottery  from  the 
North  American  luclians,  nor  the  southern  Columbian  tribes 
from  the  northern  Mexicans. 

Many,  again,  of  the  ruder  arts,  as  for  instance  the  manu- 
facture of  pottery  and  of  bows,  are  so  useful,  and  at  the  same 
time,  however  ingenious  in  idea,  so  simple  in  execution,  as 
to  render  it  highly  improbable  that  they  would  ever  bo  lost, 
when  they  had  once  been  acquired.  Yet  we  have  seen  that 
the  New  Zealanders  and  Caffres  had  no  bows,  and  that  none 
of  the  Polynesians  had  any  knowledge  of  pottery ;  though 
it  is  evident  from  their  skill  in  other  manufactures,  and  their 
general  state  of  civilization,  that  they  would  have  found  no 


o56  DIFFERENCES    BETWEEN    SAVAGES. 

difficulty  in  the  matter,  if  the  manner  had  once  occurred  to 
them.  Again,  '^  bolas  "  are  a  most  effectual  weapon,  and  there 
is  certainly  no  difficulty  in  making  them,  yet  the  knowledge 
of  them  appears  to  be  confined  to  the  Patagonians  and  the 
Esquimaux.  The  art  of  pottery,  on  the  contrary,  sometimes 
has  been,  I  believe,  communicated  by  one  race  to  another. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  cases,  even  among  existing  races*,  in 
which  we  seem  to  find  indications  of  an  independent  dis- 
covery ;  at  any  rate^  in  which  the  art  is  in  a  rudimentary 
stage. 

On  the  whole,  then,  from  a  review  of  these,  and  other 
similar  facts  which  might  have  been  mentioned,  it  seems  to 
me  most  probable  that  many  of  the  simpler  weapons,  imple- 
ments, etc.,  have  been  invented  independently  by  various 
savage  tribes,  although  there  are  no  doubt  also  cases  in  which 
they  have  been  borrowed  by  one  tribe  from  another. 

The  contrary  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  many  writers 
on  account  of  the  undeniable  similarity  existing  between  the 
weapons  used  by  savages  in  very  different  parts  of  the  world. 
But  however  paradoxical  it  may  sound,  though  the  imple- 
ments and  weapons  of  savages  are  remarkably  similar,  they 
are  at  the  same  time  curiously  different.  No  doubt  the 
necessaries  of  life  are  simple  and  similar  all  over  the  world. 
The  materials  also  with  which  man  has  to  deal  are  very  much 
alike ;  wood,  bone,  and  to  a  certain  extent  stone,  have  every 
where  the  same  properties.  The  obsidian  flakes  of  the 
Aztecs  resemble  the  flint  flakes  of  our  ancestors,  not  so  much 
because  the  ancient  Briton  resembled  the  Aztec,  as  because 
the  fracture  of  flint  is  like  that  of  obsidian.  So  also  the 
pointed  bones  used  as  awls  are  necessarily  similar  all  over 
the  world.  Similarity  exists,  in  fact,  rather  in  the  raw  mate- 
rial than  in  the  manufactured  article,  and  some  even  of  the 
•simplest  implements  of  stone  are  very  different  among  dif- 

*  See,  for  instance,  p.  494. 


DIFFERENT    USES    FOR   THE    DOG.  557 

fcrent  races.  "flio  adze-like  hatclicts  of  the  South  Sea 
Islanders  are  unlike  those  of  the  Australians  or  ancient 
Britons;  the  latter  again  differ  very  much  from  the  type 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  Drift  or  Archseolithic  period. 

Again,  the  habits  and  customs  of  savages  while  presenting 
many  remarkable  similarities  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  go  far 
to  prove  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  still  differ  greatly,  and 
thus    give    strong    evidence    of  independent    devclopitient. 
Many,  indeed,   of  those  differences  which  must  have  struck 
any  one  in  reading  the  preceding  part  of  the  chapter,  follow 
evidently  and  directly  from  the  external  conditions  in  which 
different  races  are  placed.     The  habits  of  an  Esquimaux  and 
a  Hottentot  could  not  possibly  be  similar.     But  let  us  take 
some  act  which  is  common  to  many  races,  and  is  susceptible 
of  being  accomplished  in  several  ways.     For  instance,  most 
savages  live  in   part   on   the   flesh   of  birds;  how    is    this 
obtained  ?     Generally  with  bows  and  arrows  ;  but  while  the 
Australians  catch  birds   with  the  hand,  or  kill  them  with 
the  simple  spear  or  the  boomerang,  the  Fuegians  have  both 
the  sling  and  the  bow,  Avhile  the  Esquimaux  use  a  complex 
spear  with  several  points,  or  a  projectile  which  consists  of  a 
number  of  walrus  teeth  fastened  together  by  short  pieces  of 
string,   and  thus  forming  a  kind  of  bolas.     The  northern 
tribes  visited  by  Kane  practised  a  different  method.     They 
caught   large    numbers  of  birds — especially  little   auks — in 
small  nets,  resembling  landing-nets,  with  long  ivory  handles. 
Yet  this  very  people  were  entirely  ignorant  of  fishing*. 

Take,  again,  the  use  made  of  the  dog.  At  first,  probably, 
the  dog  and  the  man  hunted  together  f;  the  cunning  of  the 
one  supplemented  the  speed  of  the  other,  and  they  shared 
the  produce  of  their  joint  exertions.     Gradually  mind  as- 

'■'  Kane,  Arctic  Explorations,  toI.       liowever,  used  the  dog  rather  as  a 
ii.  pp.  203.  243.  watchdog  than  as  a  hound, 

t  The  low  American  Wood  Indians, 


558  MODES    OP   OBTAINING   FIRE. 

serted  its  pre-eminence  oyer  matter,  and.  tlie  man  became 
master.  Then  tlie  dog  was  employed  in  otlier  ways,  less 
congenial  to  his  nature.  The  Esquimaux  forced  him  to  draw 
the  sledge ;  the  Chinook  kept  him  for  the  sake  of  his  wool ; 
the  South  Sea.  Islanders,  having  no  game,  bred  the  dog  for 
food ;  the  Chonos  Indians  taught  him  to  fish ;  where  tribes 
became  shepherds,  their  dogs  became  shepherds  also  ;  finally, 
it  is  recorded  by  Pliny  that  in  ancient  times  troops  of  dogs 
Wire  trained  to  serve  in  war.  Even  the  ox,  though  less 
versatile  than  the  dog,  has  been  used  for  the  first  and  the 
two  last  of  these  purposes. 

Again,  in  obtaining  fire,  two  totally  different  methods  are 
followed;  some  savages,  as  for  instance  the  Fuegians,  using 
percussion,  while  others,  as  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  rub  one 
piece  of  wood  against  another.  Opinions  are  divided  whether 
we  have  any  trustworthy  record  of  a  people  without  the 
means  of  obtaining  fire.  It  has  been  already  mentioned 
(pp.  445.  451)  that  some  of  the  Australians  and  Tasmanians, 
though  acquainted  with  fire,  did  not  know  how  to  obtain  it. 
In  his  history  of  the  Ladrone  Islands,  Father  Gobien  asserts 
that  fii'e,  "  an  element  of  such  universal  use,  was  utterly  un- 
known to  them,  till  Magellan,  provoked  by  their  repeated 
thefts,  burned  one  of  their  villages.  When  they  saw  their 
wooden  houses  blazing,  they  first  thought  the  fire  a  beast 
which  fed  upon  wood,  and  some  of  them  who  came  too  near, 
being  burnt,  the  rest  stood  afar  off,  lest  they  should  be  de- 
voured, or  poisoned,  by  the  violent  breathings  of  this  terrible 
animal.^'  This  fact  is  not  mentioned  in  the  original  account 
of  Magellan's  Voyage.  Freycinet  believes  that  the  assertion 
of  Father  Gobien  is  entirely  without  foundation.  The  lan- 
guage, he  says,  of  the  inhabitants  contains  words  for  fire, 
burning  charcoal,  oven,  grilling,  boiling,  etc. ;  and  even  be- 
fore the  advent  of  the  Europeans,  pottery*  was  well  known. 

*  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  166. 


MODES    OF    OBTAINING   FIRE.  559 

It  is  difficult,  however,  to  get  over  tlie  distinct  assertion 
made  by  Gobien,  which  moreover  derives  some  support  from 
similar  statements  made  by  other  travellers.     Thus  Alvaro 
de   Saavcdra  states  that   the   inhabitants  of  certain   small 
islands  in  the  Pacific  which  he  called  ''  Los  Jardines,"  but 
which   cannot   now   be    satisfiictorily  determined,   stood   in 
terror  of  fire   because   they   had   never   seen  *it*.     Again, 
Wilkes  tells  usf  that  on  the  island  of  Fakaafo,  which  he 
calls  "  Bowditch,''  ''  there  was  no  sign  of  places  for  cooking, 
nor  any  appearance  of  fire."   The  natives  also  were  very  much 
alarmed  when  they  saw  sparks  struck  from  flint  and  steel. 
Here,  at  least,  we  might  have  thought,  was  a  case. beyond 
question  or  suspicion ;  the  presence  of  fire  could  hardly  have 
escaped   observation;  the   marks   it   leaves   are   very   con- 
spicuous.    If  we  cannot  depend  on'such  a  statement  as  this, 
made  by  an  officer  in  the  United  States'  Navy,  in  the  official 
report  of  an  expedition   sent   out   especially   for   scientific 
purposes,  we  may  well  be  disheartened,  and  lose  confidence 
in  Ethnological  investigations.    Yet  the  assertions  of  Wilkes 
are   questioned,   and  with   much  appearance   of  justice,  by 
]\rr.  TylorJ.     In  the  "  Ethnography  of  the  United   States' 
Exploring  Expedition,"  Hale  gives  a  list  of  Fakaafo  words, 
in  which   we   find   afi   for   "fire."     This   is   evidently   the 
same  word  as  the  New  Zealand  alti ;  but  as  it  denotes  light 
and  heat,  as  well  as  fire,  we  might  suppose  that  it  thus  found 
its  way  into  the  Fakaafo  vocabulary.     I  should  not,  there- 
fore, attribute  to  this  argument  quite  so  much  force  as  does 
Mr.  Tylor.     It  is,  however,  evident  that  Captain  Wilkes  did 
not  perceive  the  importance  of  the  observation,  or  he  would 
certainly  have  taken  steps  to  determine  the  question ;  and  as 
Hale,  in  his  special  work  on  the  Ethnology  of  the  Expedition, 
does  not  say  a  word  on   the   subject,  it   is    clear   he   had 

»  HackluTt  Soc.  1862,  p.  178.       f  United  States'  Expl.  Exped.  vol.  v.  p.  18. 
X  Early  History  of  Mankind,  p.  230. 


560  -DIFFERENT   MODES    OP    BURIAL. 

no  idea  that  tlie  inhabitants  of  Fakaafo  exhibited  such  an 
interesting  peculiarity.  The  fact^  if  established^  would  be 
most  important;  but  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  satisfactorily- 
proved  that  there  is  at  present^  or  has  been  within  historical 
times,  any  race  of  men  entirely  ignorant  of  fire.  It  is  at 
least  certain  that  as  far  back  as  the  earliest  Swiss  lake- 
villages,  and*  Danish  shell-mounds,  the  use  of  fire  was  well 
known  in  Europe. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  already  mentioned,  some  of  the 
Tasmanian  and  Australian  tribes,  though  well  acquainted 
with  the  use  of  fire,  knew  no  way  of  kindling  it.  Con- 
sequently they  take  great  pains  to  keep  it  always  burn- 
ing ;  and  if  by  any  mischance  it  should  be  extinguished,  are 
obliged  to  get  a  fresh  light  from  some  neighbouring  tribe. 

There  is,  again,  scarcely  any  conceivable  way  in  which  the 
dead  could  be  disposed  of,  which  has  not  been  adopted  in  some 
part  of  the  world.  Among  some  races  the  corpse  is  simply 
buried;  by  others  it  is  burned.  Some  of  the  Noi'th  American 
Indians  expose  their  dead  on  scafiblds  in  the  branches  of 
trees.  Some  tribes  deposit  them  in  sacred  rivers,  others  in 
the  sea.  Among  the  Sea  Dyaks  the  dead  chief  is  placed  in 
his  war  canoe,  with  his  favourite  weapons  and  principal  pro- 
perty, and  is  thus  turned  adrift.  Other  ti'ibes  gave  their 
dead  to  be  food  for  wild  beasts  ;  and  others  preferred  to  eat 
them  themselves.  Some  Brazilian  tribes  drinh  the  dead*. 
The  Tarianas  and  Tucanos,  and  some  other  tribes,  about  a 
month  after  the  funeral,  disinter  the  corpse,  which  is  then 
much  decomposed,  and  put  it  in  a  great  pan  or  oven,  over 
the  fire,  till  all  the  volatile  parts  are  driven  off  with  a  most 
horrible  odour,  leaving  only  a  black  carbonaceous  mass, 
which  is  pounded  into  a  fine  powder,  and  mixed  in  several 
large  conches  of  caxiri :  this  is  drunk  by  the  assembled  com- 
pany, under  the  full  belief  that  the  virtues  of  the  deceased 

*  Wallace,  Travels  on  the  Amazon,  p.  498. 


A:SCENT   OP    PROPERTY.  561 

■will  thus  be  transmitted  to  the  drinkers.  Tlie  Cobeus  also 
di-ink  the  ashes  of  the  dead  in  the  same  manner. 

Indeed,  if  there  are  two  possible  ways  of  doing  a  thing,  we 
may  be  sure  that  some  tribes  will  prefer  one,  and  some  tho 
other.  It  seems  natural  to  us  that  descent  should  go  in  the 
male  line;  but  there  are  very  many  races  in  which  it  is 
traced  from  the  mother,  not  the  father.  The  husband  or 
father  seems  to  us  to  be  the  natural  head  of  the  family ;  in 
Tahiti  the  reverse  is  the  case,  and  the  son  enters  at  once 
into  the  property  and  titles  of  his  father,  who  then  holds 
them  only  as  a  guardian  or  trustee ;  so  that  among  this  extra- 
ordinary people,  not  the  father,  but  the  son,  is  in  reality  the 
head  of  the  family.  So  also  in  Australia,  the  father  is  called 
after  the  son,  not  the  son  after  the  father.  At  Cape  York 
and  in  the  neighbouring  islands  the  youngest  son  has  a 
double  share*.  Among  the  New  Zealanders  Mr.  Brown 
assures  us  that  the  youngest  son  succeeded  to  the  property  of 
the  father  f.  Among  the  Wanyameuzi,  property  descends 
not  to  the  legitimate,  but  to  the  illegitimate  children  J. 
There  are  many  races  in  which  those  holding  certain  rela- 
tionships are  forbidden  to  talk  to  one  another,  an  extraordi- 
nary superstition  which,  as  we  have  seen  (p.  461),  reaches 
its  climax  among  the  Feegeeans. 

It  seems  natural  to  us  that  after  childbirth,  the  woman 
should  keep  her  bed ;  and  that  as  far  as  possible  the  husband 
should  relieve  her  for  a  time  from  the  labours  and  cares  of 
life.  In  this,  at  least,  one  might  have  thought  that  all 
nations  would  be  alike.  Yet  it  is  not  so.  Among  tho 
Caribs  the  father,  on  the  birth  of  a  child,  took  to  his  ham- 
mock, and  placed  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  doctor,  the 
mother  meanwhile  going  about  her  work  as  usual.   A  similar 

*  McGillivray,  Voyage  of  H.M.S.  Rattlesnake,  vol.  ii.  p.  28. 
t  New, Zealand  and  its  Aborigines,  p.  26. 
X  Burton's  Lake  Regions  of  Africa,  p.  198. 

38 


562  DIFFERENCES   IN   PEEVALEN'Bt SOUNDS. 

custom  has  been  observed  on  the  mainland  of  South  America, 
among  the  Abipones,  Mundrucus,  Fuegians^  etc. ;  among 
the  Arawaks  of  Surinam ;  in  the  Chinese  province  of  West 
Yunnan;  among  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo,  and  the  Esquimaux 
of  Greenland.  It  is  mentioned  by  Xenophon  as  occurring  in 
Asia  Minor,  and  by  Strabo  among  the  Iberians ;  is  found 
even  in  the  present  day  among  the  Basques,  among  whom 
we  are  told  that  in  some  of  the  valleys,  the  "women  rise 
immediately  after  childbirth,  and  attend  to  the  duties  of  the 
household,  while  the  husband  goes  to  bed,  taking  the*  baby 
with  him,  and  thus  receives  the  neighbours'  compliments.'^ 
The  same  habit  has  been  noticed  also  in  the  South  of  France ; 
according  to  Diodorus  Siculus,  it  prevailed  at  his  time  in 
Corsica;  and  finally  it  '^is  said  still  to  exist  in  some  cantons 
of  Beam,  w^here  it  is  called  faire  la  couvade.'' 

Again,  the  love  of  life — the  dread  of  death — are  among 
the  strongest  of  our  feelings.  ''  Every  thing  that  a  man  hath 
he  will  give  in  exchange  for  his  life.''  This  is  true,  but  by 
no  means  universally  so.  According  to  Azara,  the  Indians 
of  Paraguay  have  a  great  indifference  to  death;  and  we 
have  already  seen  that  this  is  the  case  with  the  Feegeeans, 
while  Burton  makes  a  similar  statement  as  regards  the 
negroes  of  Dahomey.  Among  the  Chinese  it  is  said  that 
a  man  condemned  to  death,  if  permitted  to  do  so,  may 
always  secure  a  substitute  on  payment  of  a  moderate  sum  of 
money,  and  a  coffin  is  regarded  as  a  most  appropriate  present 
for  an  aged  relative. 

Again,  the  sounds  of  which  language  is  constituted  differ 
extremely  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  The  clicks  of  the 
Hottentots  are  a  striking  illustration  of  this.  The  Hurons 
did  not  use  the  labials ;  the  Indians  of  Port  au  Fran9ais  in 
Columbia,  according  to  M.  de  Lamanon  *,  make  no  use  of 
the  consonants  h,  /,  a",  j,  d,  p,  or  v.     The  Peruvian  language 

*  Voyage  de  la  Perbuse,  vo).  ii.  p.  211. 


DIFFERENCES   IN    SIGNS.  563 

wanted  the  letters  b,  d,f,  g,  s,  and  x*.  The  Australians  did 
not  use  the  sound  conveyed  by  our  letter  sf-  Many  of  the 
negroes  have  no  r.  The  Feegeeans  do  not  use  the  letter  c, 
the  Sorao-Somo  dialect  has  no  /.;,  that  of  Rakiraki  and  other 
parts  no  ^J.  The  Society  Islanders  and  Australians  exclude 
both  s  and  c§.  In  representing  the  New  Zealand  language 
the  missionaries  found  themselves  able  to  discard  no  less 
than  thirteen  letters,  namely,  h,  c,  d,  f,  g,  j,  I,  q,  s,  v,  x,  y, 
and  z||.  Shetland  asserts  that  whistling  was  unknown  in 
New  Zealand^. 

Even  the  symbols  by  which  the  feelings  are  expressed  are 
very  different  in  different  races.  Kissing  appears  to  us  the 
natural  expression  of  affection.  "  'Tis  certain/'  says  Steele, 
"  nature  was  its  author,  and  it  began  with  the  first  courtship.'* 
On  the  contrary  it  was  entirely  unknown  to  the  Tahitians, 
the  New  Zealanders**,  the  Papouans  ff,  and  the  aborigines  of 
Australia,  nor  was  it  in  use  among  the  Somals  JJ,  or  the 
Esquimaux  §§.  The  Hill  tribes  of  Chittagong  do  not  say  "Kiss 
me,"  but  "Smell  me||ll."  The  Malays  ^^,  Feegeeans  ***, 
Tongans,  and  many  other  Polynesians  always  sit  down  when 
speaking  to  a  superior ;  the  inhabitants  of  Mallicollo  testify 
"  admiration  by  hissing  like  a  goose ftt/'  the  sound  being  per- 
haps like  our  "  hush,"  a  call  for  silence,  and  hence  a  mark  of 


*  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega.     Mark-  apo    of    the    Novara,    vol.    iii.    p. 

ham's  Translation,  Author's  Preface,  106. 
p.  X.  tt  Freycinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  56. 

t  Freycinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  757 ;  D'Ur-  Xt  Burton's    First    Footsteps    in 

villc,  vol.  i.  pp.  188.  199.  481.  Africa,  p.  123. 

X  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  v.  §§  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  353. 

257.  nil  Lewin,    Hill   Tribes    of    Chit- 

§  Polynesian    Eesearches,    vol.  i.  tagong,  p.  46. 
p-  77.  %1I  Memoirs  of  a  Malayan  Family, 

II  Brown,    New  Zealand    and    its  Marsden,  p.  37. 
Aborigines,  p.  100.  »*»  Williams,   Figi    and   the   Fi- 

^  Traditions  of  the  NewZealanders,  giana,  vol.  i.  p.  38. 
p.  134.  ttt  Cook's  Second  Voyage,  vol.  iL 

•*  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  561 ;  Voy-  p.  36. 


564  IDEAS    OP   DECENCY. 

interest ;  the  mode  of  showing  respect  among  the  Todas  of  the 
Neilgherry  hills  is  by  raising  the  open  right  hand  to  the  face, 
resting  the  thumb  on  the  bridge  of  the  nose ;  at  Vatavulu  * 
it  is  respectful  to  turn  one's  back  on  a  superior,  especially 
in  addressing  him.  The  same  custom  occurs  in  Congo  f ; 
Denham  found  it  in  central  Africa  J;  and  Speke  among  the 
Wahuma  in  the  East  §.  According  to  Freycinet,  tears  were 
regarded  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  a  sign  of  happiness  ||; 
and  some  of  the  Esquimau:^pull  noses  as  a  token  of  respect  •[[. 
Spix  and  Martins  assure  us  that  blushing  was  unknown 
among  the  Brazilian  Indians;  and  that  only  after  long 
intercourse  with  Europeans,  does  a  change  of  colour  become 
in  them  any  indication  of  mental  emotion**. 

Again  we  find  the  most  striking  differences  of  feeling  in 
the  matter  of  clothing.  The  Turk  thinks  it  highly  improper 
for  a  woman  to  show  her  face.  The  sculptures  on  early 
Indian  temples  show  that  a  race  may  attain  to  a  considerable 
degree  of  civilization  without  perceiving  any  necessity  what- 
ever for  clothing.  This  is  the  case  with  the  women  listening 
to  Buddha  while  preaching,  and  even  Buddha's  wife  and 
Maya  his  mother tt  are  habitually  so  represented;  indeed  Mr. 
Fergusson  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  ''  before  the  Ma- 
homedan  conquest  nudity  in  India  conveyed  no  sense  of 
indecency." 

The  ideas  of  virtue  also  differ  extremely.  Neither  faith, 
hope,  nor  charity  enters  into  the  virtues  of  a  savage. 
The  Sichuana  language  contains  no  expression  for  thanks  ; 
the  Algonquin  had  no  word  for  love;  the  Tinne  no  word 


*  Figi   and    the   Figians,    vol.    i.  Nile,  p.  206. 
p.  154.  II  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  pp.  542.  589. 

t  Astley's  Voyage    and   Travels,  ^  Eoss,  Baffin's  Bay,  p.  118. 

vol.  iii.  p.  72.  **  Yol.  i.  p.  376. 

X  Travels  and  Discoveries  in  Africa,  ff  See   for  instance    Fergusson 's 

vol.  ii.  p.  27 ;  vol.  iii.  p.  15.  Tree  and  Serpent  Worship.    PI.  Ixxiv. 

§  Discovery  of  the  Source  of  the  and  passim. 


IDEAS   OP  VIRTUE.  565 

for  beloved;  mercy  was  with  the  North  American  Indians  a 
mistake,  and  peace  an  evil ;  theft,  says  Catlin,  they  "  call 
captuz'ing ;"  humility  is  an  idea  which  they  could  not  com- 
prehend. Among  the  Koupouees  the  greatest  misconduct, 
says  Major  McCulloch,  "  is  to  forgive  an  enemy,  the  first 
virtue  is  revenge  *." 

Among  the  ancient  Greeks  we  see  in  Homer  that  the 
deceitful  cunning  of  Ulysses  was  looked  upon  with  approval. 

"Is  a  man  to  stai've,"  said  an  African,  indignantly,  to 
Capt.  Burton,  "  while  his  sister  has  children  whom  she  might 
sell  ?  "  This  sentiment  reads  at  first  like  the  acme  of  selfish- 
ness, but  this  impression  would  perhaps  be  ^just.  Marsden 
records  a  Sumatran  Malay  as  saying,  in  admiration  of  an 
European  watch,  "  Is  it  not  fitting  that  such  as  we  should  be 
slaves  to  people  who  have  the  ingenuity  to  invent,  and  the 
skill  to  construct,  so  wonderful  a  machine  f  ?  " 

Chastity  before  mai'riage  was  not  reckoned  as  a  virtue  by 
the  New  Zealanders  J  or  Cree  Indians  § ;  it  was  disapproved 
of,  though  for  very  difierent  reasons,  by  some  of  the  Bra- 
zilian tribes,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Ladrones,  and  by  the 
Andamaners.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Australians  would 
have  been  shocked  at  a  man  marrying  a  woman  of  his  own 
family  name ;  the  Abipones  thought  it  a  sin  for  a  man  to 
pronounce  his  own  name;  the  Tahitians  thought  it  very 
wrong  to  eat  in  company,  and  were  horrified  at  an  English 
sailor,  who  carried  some  food  in  a  basket  on  his  head.  This 
prejudice  was  also  shared  by  the  New  Zealanders  ||,  while  the 
Feegeeans,  who  were  habitual  cannibals,  who  regarded  mercy 
as  a  weakness,  and  cruelty  as  a  virtue,  fully  believed  that  a 
woman  who  Avas  not  tattooed  in  an  orthodox  manner  during 

*  Selection   from   the  Records  of  Aborigines,  p.  35. 

the  Government  of  India.     By  Major  §  Franklin's  Journeys  to  the  Polar 

W.  McCulloch,  p.  75.  Seas,  vol.  it  p.  132.     Dunn's  Oregon 

t  History  of  Sumatra,  p.  205.  Territory,  p.  92. 

X  Brown,    New  Zealand    and    its  ||  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  533. 


566  IDEAS   OP   VIRTUE. 

life^  could  not  possibly  hope  for  happiness  after  death.  This 
curious  idea  is  also  found  among  the  Esquimaux.  Hall  tells 
us  that  they  tattoo  "  from  principle,  the  theory  being  that 
the  lines  thus  made  will  be  regarded  in  the  next  world  as  a 
sign  of  goodness*."  It  seems  to  the  Veddahs  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world  that  a  man  should  marry  his 
younger  sister,  but  marriage  with  an  elder  one  is  as  repug- 
nant to  them  as  to  us.  Among  the  Friendly  Islanders  the 
chief  priest  was  considered  too  holy  to  be  married;  but  he 
had  the  right  to  take  as  many  concubines  as  he  pleased ;  and 
even  the  chiefs  dared  not  refuse  their  daughters  to  him. 
In  Western  Afidca  the  women  of  the  reigning  families 
might  have  as  many  lovers  as  they  wished,  but  were  for- 
bidden to  degrade  themselves  by  marriage.  Among  the 
natives  of  New  South  Wales,  though  the  women  wore  no 
clothes,  it  was  thought  indecent  for  young  girls  to  go 
naked f. 

Many  savage  races  think  it  wrong  for  a  woman  to  have 
twins;  among  the  Ibos  of  Eastern  Africa,  for  instance,  in 
such  a  case  the  children  wei'e  exposed  to  wild  beasts  and  the 
mother  was  driven  out  of  society  J.  There  also  it  is  thought 
unlucky  to  cut  the  upper  teeth  before  the  lower  ones,  and 
"  You  cut  your  top  teeth  first "  is  the  bitterest  of  insults. 
I  cannot  indeed  but  think  that  the  differences  observable  in 
savage  tribes,  are  even  more  remarkable  than  the  similarities. 

In  endeavouring  to  estimate  the  moral  character  of  savages, 
we  must  remember  not  only  that  their  standard  of  right  and 
wi^ong  was,  and  is,  in  many  cases,  very  different  from  ours, 
but  also  that,  according  to  the  statements  of  travellers,  some 
of  them  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  responsible  beings,  and 


*  Life  with  the  Esquimaux,  vol.  ii.  X  Burton's  Lake  Eegions  of  Africa, 

p.  315.  p.  90.  Seo  for  other  instances  of  this, 

t  D'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  471 ;  Voyage  my  Origin  of  Civilization,  2nd  ed.  p. 

of  the  Eattlesnake,  vol.  i.  p.  49.  25. 


DEIFICATION   OP  WHITE    MEN.  567 

have  not  attained  to  any  notions,  however  faulty  and  un- 
defined, of  moral  rectitude*.  But  where  such  notions  do 
exist  they  differ  widely,  as  we  have  seen,  from  our  own; 
and  it  would  open  up  too  large  a  question  to  inquire 
whether,  in  all  cases,  our  standard  is  the  correct  one. 

In  considering  the  character  of  women  belonging  to  savage 
or  semi-savage  races,  we  must  also  remember  that  savages 
often  regard  the  white  men  as  beings  of  a  superior  order. 
Thus   M.    du    Chaillu  tells    us   that  some   of   the   African 
savages  looked  upon  him  as  a  superior  being ;  and  the  South 
Sea  Islanders  worshipped  Captain  Cook  as  a  deity.     Even 
when  they  had  killed  him,  and  cut  him  into  small  pieces, 
the  inhabitants  of  Owhyhee  fully  expected  him  to  re-appear, 
and  frequently  asked  "what  he  would  do  to  them  on  his 
returnf."  However  absurd   and   extravagant  such  a  belief 
may  at  first  sight  appear,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  in 
many  respects  very  natural.     Savages  can  only  raise  their 
minds  to  the  conception  of  a  being  a  few  degrees  superior 
to  themselves,  and  Captain  Cook  was  more  powerful,  wiser, 
and,  we  may  add,  more  virtuous,  than  most  of  their  so-called 
"  Deities."     Under  these  circumstances,  although  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  chastity  of  the  women  is  not,  as  a  general 
rule,  much  regarded  among  savages,  we  must  not  too  severely 
condemn  them  on  this  account.     It  is  not  surprising  that 
any  connexion   with  white  men   is   regarded    rather   as  an 
honour  than  as  a  disgrace :  the  Europeans  hold,  in  fact,  almost 
the  same  position  in  public  estimation  as  did  the  amorous 
deities  of  ancient  mythology. 

Agam,  with  savages,  as  with  children,  time  appears  longer 
than  it  does  to  us,  and  a  temporary  marriage  as  natural  and 
honourable  as  one  that  is  permanent.     Hospitahty,  again,  is 

•  See,  for  instance,  Burchell,  vol.  i.  Ocean.  By  Capt.  King,  F.E.S.  vol. 
P-  '^^l.  iii.  p.  69. 

+  Cook'a   Voyage  to    the   Pacific 


568  CURIOUS   CUSTOMS. 

frequently  carried  so  far  that  it  is  thought  wrong  to  with- 
hold from  a  guest  any  thing  that  might  contribute  to  his 
comfort,  and  unless  therefore  he  was  provided  with  a  tem- 
porary wife,  hospitality  would  be  regarded  as  incomplete. 
This  custom  is  found  throughout  North  America  and  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  among  the  Abyssinians,  Bedouins,  Kaffirs, 
Patagonians,  and  other  races.  Among  the  Esquimaux  it 
is  considered  a  great  mark  of  friendship  for  two  men  to 
exchange  wives  for  a  day  or  two.  It  has  been  abeady  men- 
tioned that  a  Kandyan  chief,  described  by  Mr,  Bayley,  was 
quite  scandalized  at  the  idea  of  having  only  one  wife.  It 
was,  he  said,  "just  like  monkeys."  When  Captain  Cook  was 
in  New  Zealand,  his  companions  contracted  many  temporary 
marriages  with  the  Maori  women ;  these  were  arranged  in  a 
formal  and  decent  manner,  and  were  regarded,  by  the  New 
Zealanders  at  any  rate,  as  perfectly  regular  and  innocent*. 
Eegnardf  assures  us  that  the  Lapps  preferred  to  marry  a 
girl  that  had  had  a  child  by  a  white  man,  thinking  "  that 
because  a  man  whom  they  believe  to  be  possessed  of  a  better 
taste  than  themselves  has  been  anxious  to  give  marks  of  his 
love  for  a  girl  of  their  country,  she  must,  therefore,  be  pos- 
sessed of  some  secret  merit."  Even  at  the  present  day.  Lady 
Duff  Gordon  tells  us,  in  her  paper  on  the  Cape  J,  that  '^  there 
are  no  so-called  'morals'  among  the  coloured  people,  and 
how  or  why  should  there  ?  It  is  an  honour  to  one  of  these 
girls  to  have  a  child  by  a  white  man."  Taking  all  these 
facts  into  consideration,  the  intercourse  which  has  taken 
place  between  Europeans  and  women  of  lower  tribes  must 
not,  I  think,  be  too  severely  condemned,  or  rather  the  blame 
ought  to  fall  on  us  and  not  on  them.  But,  even  among 
Bavages  themselves,  we  must  admit  that  female  virtue  is^  in. 

*  Cook's  First  Voyage,  vol.  iii.  p.  450. 

+  Pinkerton,  Jonmey  to  Lapland,  vol.  i.  p.  166. 

j  Vacation  Tourists,  1863,  p.  178. 


SOCIAL   POSITION   OP   WOMEN.  569 

many  cases,  but  slightly  regarded;  as,  indeed,  is  but  natural 
when  women  themselves  are  looked  upon  as  httle  better  than 
domestic  animals.     Among   many  tribes,  for   instance  the 
South.  Sea  Islanders  and  the  Esquimaux,  indecent  dances 
are  not  only  common,  but  arc  countenanced  by  women  of  the 
highest  rank,  to  whom  it  does  not  appear  to  occur  that  there 
is  any  harm  or  impropriety  in  them.     According  to  Ulloa*, 
the  Brazilians  do  not  approve  of  chastity  in  an  unmarried 
woman,  regarding  it  as  a  proof  that  she   can  have  nothing 
attractive   about    her.     The  inhabitants   of  the  Ladronea  f, 
and  of  the  Andaman  Island  J,  come  to  the  same  conclusion; 
in  the  latter  case,  however,  for  a  different  reason,  regarding 
it  as  a  proof  of  selfishness  and  pride.     Judged  by  our  stan- 
dards these  facts  are  very  di-eadful;  but  we  must  remember 
they  did  not  entail  on  savages  the  same  fatal  consequences 
as  with  us ;  and  before  we  condemn  them  too  severely,  let  us 
remember  our  own  literature  and  our  own  morality,  even  in 
the  last  century. 

The  harsh,  not  to  say  cruel  treatment  of  women,  which  is 
almost  universal  among  savages,  is  one  of  the  deepest  stains 
upon  their  character.  They  regai-d  the  weaker  sex  as  beings 
of  an  inferior  order,  as  mere  domestic  drudges.  Nor  are  the 
labours  and  sufferings  of  the  women  sweetened  by  any  great 
affection  on  the  part  of  those  for  whom  they  toil.  We  have 
already  seen  that  the  Algonquins  had  no  word  for  "  love  " 
in  their  language,  and  ^hat  the  Tinne  Indians  had  no  equi- 
valent for  "  dear  "  or  "  beloved.^'  Captain  Lefroy  §  says,  "  I 
endeavoured  to  put  this  intelligibly  to  Nannette,  by  sup- 
posmg  s«ch  an  expression  as  ma  chere  femme ;  ma  chore 
fille.  When  at  length  she  understood  it,  her  reply  was  (with 
great  emphasis),  '  V  disent  jamais  9a ;  i'  disent  ma  femme,  ma 

*  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiv.  p.  521.  vol.  ii.  p.  35. 

t  Frej-cinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  370.  §  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition, 

I  Trans.   Ethn.    Soc.     Kew   Ser.       vol.  ii.  p.  24. 


570  SAVAGES   AND   CHILDEEN. 

fille.'  "  Spix  and  Martius*  tell  us  that  among  the  Brazilian 
tribes  the  father  has  scarcely  any,  the  mother  only  an  in- 
stinctive affection  for  the  child.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that,  as  an  almost  universal  rule,  savages  are  cruel,  but  we 
must  remember  that  they  are  less  sensitive  to  pain  than  those 
who  spend  much  of  their  time  in-doors,  and  that  in  many  cases 
they  inflict  upon  themselves  also  the  most  horrible  tortures. 
Savages  have  often  been  likened  to  children,  and  the  com- 
parison is  not  only  correct,  but  also  highly  instructive.  Many 
naturalists  consider  that  the  early  condition  of  the  individual 
indicates  that  of  the  race, — that  the  best  test  of  the  affinities 
of  a  species  are  the  stages  through  which  it  passes.  So  also 
it  is  in  the  case  of  man ;  the  life  of  each  individual  is  an 
epitome  of  the  history  of  the  race,  and  the  gradual  develop- 
ment of  the  child  illustrates  that  of  the  species.  Hence  the 
importance  of  the  similarity  between  savages  and  children. 
Savages,  like  children,  have  no  steadiness  of  purpose.  Speak- 
ing of  the  Dogrib  Indians,  we  found,  says  Eichardsonf,  "by 
experience,  that  however  high  the  reward  they  expected  to 
receive  on  reaching  their  destination,  they  could  not  be 
depended  on  to  carry  lettei^.  A  slight  difficulty,  the  prospect 
of  a  banquet  on  venison,  or  a  sudden  impulse  to  visit  some 
friend,  were  sufficient  to  turn  them  aside  for  an  indefinite 
length  of  time."  Even  among  the  comparatively  civilized 
South  Sea  Islanders  this  childishness  was  very  apparent. 
"  Their  tears  indeed  J,  like  those  qf  children,  were  always 
ready  to  express  any  passion  that  was  strongly  excited,  and 
like  those  of  children  they  also  appear  to  be  forgotten  as 
soon  as  shed."  D'Urville  also  mentions  that  Tai»wanga,  a 
New  Zealand  chief,  cried  like  a  child,  because  the  sailors 
spoilt  his  favourite  cloak  by  powdering  it  with  flour  §.     It  is 

*  Reise,  vol.  i.  p.  381.  §  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  398.     See 

f  Arctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  23.        also  Burton's  Lake  Kegions  of  Cen- 
X  Cook's  First  Voyage,  p.  103.  tral  Africa,  p.  332. 


SAVAGES    AND   CHILDREN.  571 

not,  says  Cook,  "  indeed  strange  tliat  tlie  sorrows  of  these 
artless  people  should  be  transient,  any  more  than  that  their 
passions  should  be  suddenly  and  strongly  expressed  ;  what 
they  feel  they  have  never  been  taught  either  to  disguise  or 
suppress,  and  having  no  habits  of  thinking  which  perpetually 
recall  the  past,  and  anticipate  the  future,  they  are  affected  by 
all  the  changes  of  the  passing  hour,  and  reflect  the  colour  of 
the  time,  however  frequently  it  may  vary;  they  have  no 
project  which  is  to  be  pursued  from  day  to  day,  the  subject 
of  unremitted  anxiety  and  solicitude,  that  first  rushes  into 
the  mind  when  they  awake  in  the  morning,  and  is  last  dis- 
missed when  they  sleep  at  night.  Yet  if  we  admit  that  they 
are  upon  the  whole  happier  than  we,  we  must  admit  that  the 
child  is  happier  than  the  man,  and  that  we  are  losers  by  the 
perfection  of  our  nature,  the  increase  of  our  knowledge,  and 
the  enlargement  of  our  views." 

We  know  the  difficulty  which  children  find  in  pronouncing 
certain  sounds  :  r  and  /,  for  instance,  they  constantly  confound. 
This  is  the  case  also  among  the  Sandwich  Islanders  and  in  • 
the  Ladrones  according  to  Freycinet*;  inVanikorof;  among 
the  DammarasJ;  and  in  the  Tonga  Islands  §.  Mr.  Darwin 
observed  that  the  Fuegians  had  great  difficulty  in  com- 
prehending an  alternative  :  and  every  one  must  have  noticed 
the  tendency  among  savages  to  form  words  by  reduplication. 
This  also  is  characteristic  of  childhood  among  civilized 
races. 

Again,  some  of  the  most  brutal  acts  which  have  been 
recorded  against  them  are  to  be  regarded  less  as  instances  of 
deliberate  cruelty,  than  of  a  childish  thoughtlessness  and  im- 
pulsiveness. A  striking  instance  of  this  is  recorded  by  Byron 
in  his  narrative  of  the  Loss  of  the  Wager.     A  cacique  of  the 

*  Vol.  u.  pp.  260.  519.  p.  181. 

t  Vol.  V.  p.  218.  §  Mariner's  Tonga  Islands,  vol.  i. 

X  Gralton,   Tropical  South  Africa,      p.  30. 


572  MORAL   INFERIORITY   OP    SAVAGES. 

ChonoSj  wlio  was  nominallj  a  Cliristian^  had  been  out  witH 
Lis  wife  to  fish  for  sea-eggs^  and  having  had  little  success, 
returned  in  a  bad  humour.  "A  little  boy  of  theirs,  about 
three  years  old^  whom  they  appeared  to  be  doatingly  fond  of, 
watching  for  his  father  and  mother's  return,  ran  into  the 
surf  to  meet  them :  the  father  handed  a  basket  of  eggs  to 
the  child,  which  being  too  heavy  for  him  to  carry,  he  let  it 
fall,  upon  which  the  father  jumped  out  of  the  canoe,  and 
catching  the  boy  up  in  his  arms,  dashed  him  with  the 
utmost  violence  against  the  stones.  The  poor  little  creature 
lay  motionless  and  bleeding,  and  in  that  condition  was 
taken  up  by  the  mother,  but  died  soon  after*." 

In  fact,  we  may  fairly  sum  up  this  part  of  the  question  in 
a  few  words  by  saying,  as  the  most  general  conclusion  which 
can  be  arrived  at,  that  savages  have  the  character  of  children 
with  the  passions  and  strength  of  men.  No  doubt  different 
races  of  savages  differ  very  much  in  character.  An  Esqui- 
maux and  a  Feegeem,  for  instance,  have  little  in  common. 
0  But  after  making  every  possible  allowance  for  savages,  it 
must  I  think  be  admitted  that  they  are  inferior,  morally  as 
well  as  in  other  respects,  to  the  more  civilized  races.  There 
is  indeed  no  atrocious  crime,  no  vice  recorded  by  any  tra- 
veller, which  might  not  be  paralleled  in  Europe.  But  that 
which  is  with  us  the  exception,  is  with  them  the  rule ;  that 
which  with  us  is  condemned  by  the  general  verdict  of  society, 
and  is  confined  to  the  uneducated  and  the  vicious,  is  among 
savages  passed  over  almost  without  condemnation  and  treated 
as  a  mere  matter  of  course.  In  Tahiti,  for  instance,  the 
Missionaries  considered  that  "  not  less  than  two-thirds  of  the 
children  were  murdered  by  their  parents." 

If  we  now  turn  to  the  mental  difierences  between  civilized 
and  uncivilized  races,   we   shall   find   them   very  strongly 

*  Byron's  Loss  of  the  Wager.     Kerr's  Voyages,  vol.  xvii.  p.  374. 


INTELLECTUAL   INFERIORITY.  573 

marked.     Speaking  of  a  Bushman  tribe,  Burchcll  observes 
that  "  whether  capable  of  reflection  or  not,  these  individuals 
never  exerted  it*."     The  Rev.  T.  Dove  describes  the  Tas- 
manians  as  distinguished  "  by  the  absence  of  all  moral  views 
and   impressions.     Every  id«a   bearing  on  our  origin  and 
destination  as  rational  beings  seems  to  have  been  erased  from 
their  breastsf."     It  would  be  easy  to  fill  a  volume  with  the 
evidence  of  excessive   stupidity  recorded  by  different   tra- 
vellers.    It  may  be  perhaps  thought  that  these  were  rather 
instances  of  individual  dulness,  than  any  indication  of  a 
national  charactei'istic ;  but  in  the  nature  and  capacity  of  a 
language  we  find  a  test  and  measure  of  the  higher  minds  in  a 
nation.      Unfortunately,  however,  travellers  have  found  it 
diflScult  enough  to  obtain  vocabularies  of  the  words  in  use ; 
and  it  is  far  less  easy  to  collect  information  as  to  those  which 
they  do  not  possess.     Yet  there  are  not  a  few  cases  in  which 
this  has  been  done.    I  have  already  mentioned  the  deficiency 
of  some  North  American  languages  in  terms  of  endearment; 
this   fact  suggests  a  melancholy  condition  of  the  domestic 
relations,  but  it  may  here  be  referred  to  again  as  an  evidence 
of  a  low  mental,  as  well  as  moral,  condition.     What  Spix 
and  Martins  tell  us  about  the  Brazilian  tribes  J  appears  also 
to  be  true  of  many,  if  not  of  most,  savage  races.     Their 
vocabulary  is  rich,  and  they  have  separate  names  for  the 
different  parts  of  the  body,  for  all  the  different  animals  and 
plants  with  which  they  are  acquainted ;    for  every  thing,  in 
fact,  which  they  can  see  and  handle.     Yet  they  are  entirely 
deficient  in  words  for  abstract  ideas ;  they  have  no  expres- 
sions for  colour,  tone,  sex,  genus,  spirit,  etc. 

The  Abipones  have  no  such  words  as  man,  J)ody,  place, 
time,  never,  ever,  every  where,  etc.;  nor  such  a  verb  as  "to 
be."     They  cannot  say  "I  am  an  Abipon,"  but  only  "I 

*  1.  c.  vol.  i.  p.  4G1.  Science,  vol.  i.  p.  249. 

t  Tasmanian  Journal  of  Natural  J  Rcise  in  Brazilicn,  vol.  i.  p.  385. 


574  POVERTY  OP  SAVAGE  LANGUAGES. 

Abipon*."  The  Malay  language,  also,  according  to  Craw- 
furd,  is  very  deficient  in  abstract  terms.  It  contains  a 
word  for  each  coloui',  but  no  term  for  colour  itself.  The 
St.  Petersburg  Bible  Society  endeavoured  some  years  ago 
to  translate  the  Lord's  Praj^r  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments iiito  the  language  of  the  Tschuktschi,  but  "partly 
from  the  language  being  entirely  deficient  in  words  to 
express  new  and  abstract  ideas;  and  partly  for  want  of 
letters  to  convey  the  variety  of  strange  and  uncouth  sounds 
of  which  the  language  itself  consists,  the  translation  was 
wholly  unintelligible  f. 

So,  again,  the  Tasmauians  had  no  word  for  a  tree,  though 
they  had  a  name  for  each  species;  nor  could  they  express 
"qualities,  such  as  hard,  soft,  warm,  cold,  long,  short,  round, 
etc.;  for  ^hard'  they  would  say  'like  a  stone;'  for  'tall' 
they  would  say  'long  legs,'  etc.;  and  for  'round'  they  said 
'like  a  ball,'  'like  the  moon,'  and  so  on  J."  According  to 
the  missionaries  §,  Fuegians  have  "  no  abstract  terms  for  ex- 
pressing the  truths  of  our  religion;"  and  among  the  IsToi'th 
American  languages  "a  term  sufficiently  general  to  denote 
an  'oak  tree'  is  exceptional  || ."  Even  the  comparatively 
civilized  inhabitants  of  Tahiti  had,  according  to  Porster, 
"  no  proper  words  for  expressing  abstract  ideas  ^." 

TTie  names  for  numbers  are,  however,  the  best,  or,  at  least, 
the  most  easily  applicable  test  of  mental  condition  among, 
the  lower  races  of  man.  We  have  seen  that  the  Esquimaux 
can  only  with  difficulty  count  up  to  ten,  and  that  some  indi- 
viduals cannot  go  beyond  five.  The  Abipones**  can  only 
express  three  numbers  in  proper  words.  The  Dammaras 
"in  practice^ whatever  they- may  possess  in  their  language^ 

*  Dobritzhoffer,  vol.  ii.  p.  183.  §  The  Voice  of  Pity,  vol.  x.  p.  152. 

t  Wi-angell's    Siberia    and  Polar  ||     Latham,     Varieties    of   Man, 

Sea,  p.  121.  p.  375. 

X  Milligan,    Proc.    Eoy.    Society,  %  1.  c.  p.  403. 

Tasmania,  vol.  iii.  p.  281,  **  Dobritzhofier,  vol.  ii.  p.  169. 


DEFICIENCIES    IN   NUMERATION.  575 

certainly  use  no  numeral  greater  than  three.  When  they 
wish  to  express  four,  they  take  to  their  fingers,  which  are  to 
them  as  formidable  instruments  of  calculation  as  a  sliding 
rule  is  to  an  English  schoolboy.  They  puzzle  very  much 
after  five,  because  no  spare  hand  remains  to  grasp  and  secure 
the  fingers  that  are  required  for  units*."  Mr.  Crawfurd, 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  fjr  an  interesting  paper  on  this 
subjectf,  has  examined  no  less  than  thirty  Australian 
languages,  and  it  appears  that  none  of  the  tribes  in  that 
vast  continent  can  count  beyond  four.  According  to  Mr. 
Scott  Nind,  indeed,  the  numerals  used  by  the  natives  of 
King  George's  Sound  reach  up  to  five;  but  the  last  is  merely 
the  word  "  many.''  The  Brazilian  Indians  also  count  'only  up 
to  three ;  for  any  higher  number  they  use  the  word  "  many  J." 
The  Capo  Yorkers  (Australia)  can  hardly  be  said  to  go 
beyond  two;  their  numerals  are  as  follows.: — 

One Netat. 

Two Naes. 

Three Na.es-netat. 

Four Naes- naes. 

Five Naes-naes-netat. 

Six Naes-naes-naes. 

Again,  in  the  state  of  their  religious  conceptions,  still 
more  in  the  absence  of  religious  conceptions,  we  get  another 
proof  of  extreme  mental  inferiority.  The  question  has  been 
frequently  discussed  whether  there  is  any  race  of  men  so 
degraded  as  to  be  entirely  without  a  religion — without  some 
idea  of  a  deity.  The  conclusion  to  be  arrived  at  depends,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  very  much  on  the  meaning  which  we  ascribe 
to  the  term  "  religion."  If  a  mere  fear  of  the  unknown,  if  a 
more  or  less  vague  belief  in  witchcraft  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
religion,  it  would,  I  think,  be  difficult  to  refute  this  assertion. 

*  Galton's  Tropical  Africa,  p.  133.       tiong,  New  S?ries,  vol.  ii.  p.  84 

t  Ethnological  Society's  Transac-  %  Spix  and  Martius,  vol.  i.  p^  387. 


576  ABSENCE   OP    EELIGION 

But  if  a  higher  estimate  of  religion  is  adopted_,  then  so  far 
from  this  being  ti'ue,  the  very  reverse  is  the  case.  Many, 
we  might  almost  say  all,  of  the  most  savage  races  are, 
according  to  the  nearly  universal  testimony  of  travellers,  in 
this  condition. 

According  to  Spix  andMartius*,  Bates,  and  Wallace,  some 
of  the  Brazilian  Indians  wer»  entirely  without  religion. 
Burmeister  confirms  this  statement,  and,  in  the  list  of  the 
principal  tribes  of  the  valley  of  the  Amazons,  published  by 
the  Hakluyt  Society,  the  Chunchos  are  stated  'Ho  have  no 
religion  whatever,"  and  we  are  told  that  the  Curetus  "have 
no  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being."  The  Toupinambas  of  Brazil 
had  no  relisrion.  The  South  American  Indians  of  the  Gran 
Chaco  are  said  by  the  missionaries  to  have  "  no  religious  or 
idolatrous  belief  or  worship  whatever;  neither  do  they  possess 
any  idea  of  God,  or  of  a  Supreme  Being.  They  make  no 
distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  and  have,  therefore, 
neither  fear  nor  hope  of  any  present  or  future  punishment  or 
reward,  nor  any  mysterious  terror  of  some  supernatural 
power,  whom  they  might  seek  to  assuage  by  sacrifices  or 
superstitious  rites  f-"  Bates  J  tells  us  "that  none^  of  the 
tribes  on  the  Upper  Amazons  have  an  idea  of  a  Supreme 
Being,  and  consequently  have  no  word  to  express  it  in  their 
languages.'"  Azara  also  makes  the  same  statement  as  regards 
many  of  the  South  American  tribes  visited  by  him§. 

Father  Baegert,  who  lived  as  a  missionary  among  the 
Indians  of  California  for  seventeen  years,  aflBirms  that  "idols, 
temples,  religious  worship,  or  ceremonies,  were  unknown  to 
them,  and  they  neither  behoved  in  the  true  and  only  God, 
nor  adored  false  deities  i|;"»and  M.  de  la  Perouse  also  says 

*  Eeise  in  BrasiUen,  vol.  i.  p.  379.  vol.  ii.  pp.  3.  14.  33.  51.  60.  76.  80, 

t  Voice  of  Pity,  vol.  ix.  p.  220.  81.  84.  90.  138.  160.  164.  166. 
X  Life   in    the   Amazons,  vol.   ii.  ||  See  Mr.  Eau's  translation.  Smith- 

p.  162.  soman  Contrib.  1863-64,  p.  390. 
§  Voyages  dans    I'Amer.  Merid. 


AMONG    VARIOUS    SAVAGE    RACES.  '       577 

that  they  "  had  no  knowledge  of  a  God,  or  of  a  future  state." 
Golden,  who  had  ample  means  of  judging,  assures  us  that  tho 
celebrated  "five  nations"  of  Ganada  "had  no  public  worship 
nor  any  word  for  God/'  and  Hearne,  who  lived  amongst  tho 
Northern  American  Indians  for  years,  and  was  porfcctly 
acquainted  with  their  habits  and  language,  says  the  same  of 
some  tribes  on  Hudson's  Bay. 

In  the  Voyage  de  1' Astrolabe,  it  is  stated  that  the  natives 
of  the  Samoan  and  Solomon  Islands,  in  the  Pacific,  had  no 
religion,  and  in  the  voyage  of  the  Novara  the  same  is  said  of 
the  Caroline  Islanders.    The  Samoans  "have  neither  moraes, 
nor  temples,  nor  altars,  nor  offerings,  and  consequently  none 
of  the  sanguinary  rites,  observed  at  the  other  groups.     In 
consequence  of  this  the  Samoans  were  considered  an  impioua 
race;  and  their  impiety  became  proverbial  with  the  people  of 
Rarotonga,  for,  when  upbraiding  a  person  who  neglected  the 
worship  of  the  gods,  they  would  call  him   "a  godless  Sa- 
moan*."    On  Damood  Island,  between  Australia  and  New 
Guinea,  Jukes  could  find  no  "  traces  of  any  religious  belief  or 
observance  t-''     Duradawan,  a  sepoy  who  lived  some  time 
with  the  Andaman  Islanders,  maintained  that  they  had  no 
religion,  and  Dr.  Mouatt  believes  his  statements  to  be  cor- 
rect J.     Some  of  the  Australian  tribes  also  are  said  to  havo 
i^)  religion  §.     In  the  Pellew  Islands,  Wilson  found  no  reli- 
gious buildings,  nor  any  sign  of  religion. 

Mr.  Wallace,  who  had  excellent  opportunities  for  judging, 
and  whose  merits  as  an  observer  no  one  can  question,  tells 
us  that  among  the  peop^  of  Wanumbai,  in  the  Aru  Islands, 
he  could  find  no  trace  of  a  religion  || ;  adding^  however,  that 
he  was  but  a  short  time  among  them. 


*  Missionary  Enterprises,  p.  464.  §  Collina'  Englisli  Colony  in  New 

t  Jukes,    Voyage   of   the   "  Fly,"  South  Wales,  p.  354. 

i»'nl.  i.  p.  164.  II  The  Malayan  Archipelago,  vol. 

X  Trana.  Ethn.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  45.  ii.  p.  280. 

39 


578  ABSENCE    OF    RELIGION 

The  Yenadies  and  the  Villees,  according  to  Dr.  Shortt,  are 
entirely  without  any  behef  in  a  future  state  * ;  and  again, 
Hooker  tells  us  that  the  Lepchas  of  Northern  India  have  no 
religion.  Captain  Grant  could  find  "no  distinct  form  of 
rehgion  "  in  some  of  the  comparatively  civiHzed  tribes  visited 
by  him  t-  According  to  Burchell,  the  Bachapins  (Caffres) 
had  no  form  of  worship  or  religion  J.  They  thought  "  that 
every  thing  made  itself,  and  that  trees  and  herbage  grew 
by  their  own  will.^^'  They  had  no  belief  in  a  good  deity,  but 
some  vague  idea  of  an  evil  being.  Indeed  the  first  idea  of  a 
god  is  almost  always  as  an  evil  spirit. 

Speaking  of  the  Foulahs  of  Wassoulo,  in  Central  Africa, 
Caillie  states,  "  I  tried  to  discover  whether  they  had  any 
religion  of  their  own ;  whether  they  worshipped  fetishes,  or 
the  sun,  moon,  or  stars;  but  I  could  never  perceive  any 
rehgious  ceremony  amongst  them  §."  Again,  he  says  of  the 
Bambaras  that,  "  like  the  people  of  Wassoulo,  they  have  no 
religion  1|,"  adding,  however,  that  they  have  great  faith  in 
charms. 

Burton  also  states  that  some  of  the  tribes  in  the  Lake 
districts  of  central  Africa  "  admit  neither  God,  nor  angel, 
nor  devil ^.■'^  Speaking  of  Hottentots,  Le  Vaillant  says**  : 
"  Je  n^y  ai  vu  aucune  trace  de  religion,  rien  qui  approche 
memo  de  Fidee  d^un  etre  vengeur  et  remunerateur.  J^ai 
vecu  assez  longtemps  avec  eux,  chez  eux  aux  sein  de  leurs 
deserts  paisibles ;  j'ai  fait,  avec  ces  braves  humains,  des 
voyages  dans  des  regions  fort  eloignees;  nulle  part  je  n^ai 
rencontre  rien  qui  ressemble  a   1%  religion."     Livingstone 


*  Proceedings  of  Madras  Govern-  p.  303. 
ment,   Revenue  Department.     May,  ||  1.  c.  p.  375. 

1864.  1"  Trans,   Ethn.   Soc.    New    Ser. 

t  A  Walk  across  Africa,  p.  145.  vol.  i.  p.  323. 

X  Travels  in  South  Africa,  vol.  ii.  **  Voyages  dans  I'Afrique,  vol.  i- 

p.  550.  p.  93. 

§  Travels    to   Timbuctoo,  vol.  i. 


AMONG   VARIOUS    SAVAGE    RACES.  579 

mentions  that,  on  one  occasion,  after  talking  to  a  Bushman 
for  some  time,  as  he  supposed,  about  the  Deity,  he  found  that 
the  savage  thought  he  was  speaking  about  Sekomi,  the 
principal  chief  of  the  district. 

Speaking  of  the  Esquimaux,  Ross  says  :  "  Ervick,  being 
the  senior  of  the  first  party  that  came  on  board,  was  judged 
to  be  the  most  proper  person  to  question  on  the  subject  of 
religion.  I  directed  Sachcuse  to  ask  him,  if  ho  had  any 
knowledge  of  a  Supreme  Being;  but  after  trying  every  word 
used  in  his  own  language  to  express  it,  he  could  not  make  him 
understand  what  he  meant.  It  was  distinctly  ascertained 
that  he  did  not  worship  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  or  any  image 
or  living  creature.  When  asked  what  the  sun  or  moon  was 
for,  he  said  to  give  light.  He  had  no  knowledge,  or  idea,  how 
he  came  into  being,  or  of  a  future  state ;  but  said  that  when 
he  died  he  would  be  put  into  the  ground.  Having  fully 
ascertained  that  he  had  no  idea  of  a  beneficent  Supreme  Being, 
I  proceeded,  through  Sacheuse,  to  inquire  if  ho  believed  in 
an  evil  spirit;  but  he  could  not  b^made  to  understand  what 

it  meant 

He  was  positive  that  in  this  incantation  he  did  not  receive 
assistance  from  any  thing,  nor  could  he  be  made  to  under- 
stand what  a  good  or  an  evil  spirit  meant  *.^' 

In  some  cases  travellers  have  arrived  at  these  views  very 
much  to  their  own  astonishment.  Thus  Father  Dobritz- 
hofier  says,  "  Theologians  agree  in  denying  that  any  man  in 
possession  of  his  reason  can,  without  a  crime,  remain  igno- 
rant of  God  for  any  length  of  time.  Tliis  opinion  I  warmly 
defended  in  the  University  of  Cordoba,  where  I  finished  the 
four  years'  course  of  theology  begun  at  Gratz,  in  Styria.  But 
what  was  my  astonishment,  when,  on  removing  from  thence 
to  a  colony  of  Abipones,  I  found  that  the  whole  language  of 
these  savages  does  not  contain  a  single  word  which  expresses 
*  Ross'  Voyage  of  Discovery  to  the  Arctic  Regions,  p.  127. 


580  RUDIMENTS    OP   RELIGION. 

Grod  or  a  divinity.  To  instruct  them  in  religion,  it  was 
necessary  to  borrow  the  Spanish  word  for  God,  and  insert 
into  the  catechism  '  Dios  ecnam  caogerik/  '  God  the  creator 
of  things  *.' '' 

We  have  already  observed  a  case  of  this  kind  in  Kolben, 
who,  in  spite  of  the  assertions  of  the  natives  themselves,  felt 
quite  sure  that  certain  dances  must  be  of  a  religious  charac- 
ter, "  let  the  Hottentots  say  what  they  will."  Again,  Mr. 
Matthews,  who  went  out  to  act  as  missionary  among  the 
Fuegians,  but  was  soon  obliged  to  abandon  the  hopeless  task, 
observed  only  one  act  ''  which  could  be  supposed  devotional." 
He  sometimes,  we  are  told,  "  heard  a  great  howling  or  lamen- 
tation, about  sunrise  in  the  morning;  and  upon  asking 
Jemmy  Button  what  occasioned  the  outcry,  he  could  obtain 
no  satisfactory  answer ;  the  boy  only  saying,  '  People  very 
sad,  cry  very  much.'  "  This  appears  so  natural  and  sufficient 
an  explanation,  that  why  the  outcry  should  be  "supposed 
devotional,"  I  must  confess  myself  unable  to  see.  Once 
more.  Dr.  Hooker  states/ that  the  Khasias,  an  Indian  tribe, 
had  no  religion.  Col.  Yule  t,  on  the  contrary,  says  that  they 
have,  but  he  admits  that  breaking  hen's  eggs  is  "  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  their  religious  practice."  But  if  most  travellers 
have  expected  to  find  a  religion  every  where,  and  have  been 
convinced,  almost  against  their  will,  that  the  reverse  is  the 
case ;  it  is  quite  possible  that  there  may  have  been  others 
who  have  too  hastily  denied  the  existence  of  a  religion  among 
the  tribes  they  visited.  However  this  may  be,  those  who  assert 
that  even  the  lowest  savages  believe  in  a  Supreme  Deity,  affirm 
that  which  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  evidence.  The  direct 
testimony  of  travellers  on  this  point  is  indirectly  corrobo- 
rated by  their  other  statements.  How,  for  instance,  can 
a  people  who  are  unable  to  count  their  own  fingers,  possibly 

*  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  57.     See  also  p.  64. 

f  Yule,  On  the  Khasia  Hills  and  People,  p.  18. 


LOW    IDEAS    OF    THE    DEITY.  581 

raise  their  mind  so  far  as  to  admit  even  the  rudiments  of 
a  religion  *  ?  Fetich  worship,  which  is  so  widely  prevalent 
in  Africa,  can  hardly  be  called  a  religion;  and  even  the 
South  Sea  Islanders,  who  were  in  many  respects  so  highly 
civilized,  are  said  to  have  been  seriously  offended  with  their 
deity  if  they  thought  that  he  treated  them  with  undue 
severity,  or  without  proper  consideration.  According  to 
Kotzebue,  the  Kamtschatkans  adored  their  deities  "when 
their  wishes  were  fulfilled,  and  insulted  them  when  their 
affairs  went  amiss  f."  When  the  missionaries  introduced  a 
printing-press  into  Feegee  "  the  heathen  at  once  declared  it 
to  be  a  god  J." 

The  natives  of  the  Nicobar  Islands  put  up  scarecrows  to 
frighten  away  the  deity  §,  and  Burton  once  heard  an  old 
Eesa  woman,  who  was  suffering  from  tooth- ache,  offer  up 
the  following  prayer :  "  Oh  Allah,  may  thy  teeth  ache  like 
mine;  Oh  Allah,  may  thy  gums  be  as  sore  as  mine  are 
now." 

The  savage  is,  however,  almost ,  universally  a  believer  in 
witchcraft.  Confusing  together  subjective  and  objective 
relations,  he  is  a  prey  to  constant  fears.  Nor  is  the  belief  in 
sorcery  easily  shaken  off  even  by  the  most  civilized  nations. 
James  the  First  was  under  the  impression  that  by  melting 
little  images  of  wax  "  the  persons  that  they  bear  the  name 
of  may  be  continually  melted  or  dried  away  by  continual 
sickness.'*  As  regards  pictures,  the  most  curious  fancies 
exist  among  savage  races.  They  have  a  very  general  dislike 
to  be  represented,  thinking  that  the  a.rtist  thereby  acquires 
some  mysterious  power  over  them.  Kane  on  one  occasion 
freed  himself  from  some  importunate  Indians,  by  threatening 


*  See,  for  instance,  Greg's  Creed  J  Figi   and   the    Figians,    vol.   ii. 

ot  Christendom,  p.  212.  p.  222. 

t  New  Voyage  round  the  World,  §  Voyage  of  the  "Novara,"  vol.  iL 

vol.  ii.  p.  13.  p.  66. 


582  WITCHCRAFT. 

to  draw  them  if  they  did  not  go  away.  I  have  already  men- 
tioned (p.  529)  the  danger  in  which  Catlin  found  himself 
from  sketching  a  chief  in  profile,  and  thereby,  as  it  was  sup- 
posed, depriving  him  of  half  his  face.  So  again  a  mysterious 
connexion  is  supposed  to  exist  between  a  cut  lock  of  hair  and 
the  person  to  whom  it  belonged.  In  various  parts  of  the 
world  the  sorcerer  gets  clippings  of  the  hair  of  his  enemy, 
parings  of  his  nails,  or  leavings  of  his  food,  convinced  that 
whatever  evil  is  done  to  these  will  react  on  their  former 
owner.  Even  a  piece  of  clothing,  or  the  ground  on  which  a 
person  has  trodden,  will  answer  the  purpose,  and  among 
some  tribes  the  mere  knowledge  of  a  person's  name  is  sup- 
posed to  give  a  mysterious  power.  The  Indians  of  British 
Columbia  have  a  great  horror  of  telling  their  names.  Among 
the  Algonquins  a  person's  real  name  is  communicated  only 
to  his  nearest  relations  and  dearest  friends  :  the  outer  world 
address  him  by  a  kind  of  nickname.  Thus  the  true  name  of 
La  Belle  Sauvage  was  not  Pocahontas,  but  Matokes,  which 
they  were  afraid  to  communicate  to  the  English.  In  some 
tribes  these  name-fancies  take  a  different  form.  According 
to  Ward,  it  is  an  unpardonable  sin  for  a  Hindoo  woman  to 
mention  the  name  of  her  husband.  The  KafiSrs  have  a 
similar  custom,  and  so  have  some  East  African  tribes.  In 
many  parts  of  the  world  the  names  of  the  dead  are  avoided 
with  superstitious  horror.  This  is  the  case  in  great  parts  of 
North  and  South  America,  in  Siberia,  among  the  Papuans 
and  Australians,  and  even  in  Shetland,  where  it  is  said 
that  v.'idows  are  very  reluctant  to  mention  their  departed 
husbands. 

Throughout  Australia,  among  some  of  the  Brazilian  tribes, 

in  parts  of  Africa,  and  in  various  other  countries,  natural 

death  is  regarded  as  an  impossibility.     In  the  New  Hebrides 

"  when  a  man  fell  ill,  he  knew  that  some  sorcerer  was  buri^ 

.  ing  his  rubbish ;  and  shell-trumpets,  which  could  be  heard 


GENERAL  WRETCHEDNESS   OP   SAVAGES.  583 

for  miles,  were  blown  to  signal  to  the  sorcerers  to  stop,  and 
wait  for  the  presents  which  would  be  sent  next  morning. 
Night  after  night,  Mr.  Turner  used  to  hear  the  melancholy 
too-tooing  of  the  shells,  entreating  the  wizards  to  stop 
plaguing  their  victims*."  Savages  never  know  but  what 
they  may  be  placing  themselves  in  the  power  of  these  terri- 
ble enemies  t,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  horrible 
dread  of  unknown  evil  hangs  like  a  thick  cloud  over  savage 
life,  and  embitters  every  pleasure. 

The  mental  sufferings  which  they  thus  undergo,  the  horri- 
ble tortures  which  they  sometimes  inflict  on  themselves,  and 
the  crimes  which  they  are  led  to  commit,  are  melancholy  in 
the  extreme.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  I  have  selected  from  various  works  all  the 
passages  most  unfavourable  to  savages,  and  that  the  picture 
I  have  drawn  of  them  is  unfair.  In  reality  the  very  reverse 
is  the  case.  Their  real  condition  is'  even  worse  and  more 
abject  than  that  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  depict.  I  have 
been  careful  to  quote  only  from  trustworthy  authorities,  but 
there  are  many  things  stated  by  them  which  I  have  not 
ventured  to  repeat;  and  there  are  other  facts  which  the 
travellers  themselves  were  ashamed  to  publish. 

*  Tylor,  I.  c.  p.  129;    Turner's  f  See    Brown,   New   Zealand   and 

Polynesia,  pp.  18.  89.  424.  its  Aborigines,  p.  80. 


CHAPTEK  XVI, 

CONCLUDING     REMARKS. 

I  HAVE  already  expressed  my  belief  that  the  simpler  arts 
and  implements  have  been  independently  invented  by 
various  tribes,  at  different  times,  and  in  different  parts  of 
the  world.  Even  at  the  present  day  we  may,  I  think, 
obtain  glimpses  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were,  or  may 
have  been,  invented.  Elephants  break  off  boughs  and  use 
them  as  fans.  Monkeys  use  clubs,  and  throw  sticks  and 
stones  at  those  who  intrude  upon  them.  They  also  use 
round  stones  for  cracking  nuts,  and  surely  a  very  small  step 
would  lead  from  that  to  the  application  of  a  sharp  stone  for 
cutting.  When  the  edge  became  blunt,  it  would  be  thrown 
away,  and  another  chosen;  but  after  a  while,  accident,  if  not 
reflection,  would  show,  that  a  round  stone  would  crack  other 
stones,  as  well  as  nuts,  and  thus  the  savage  would  learn  to 
make  sharp-edged  stones  for  himself.  At  first,  as  we  see  in 
the  drift  specimens,  these  would  be  coarse  and  rough,  but 
gradually  the  pieces  chipped  off  would  become  smaller,  the 
blows  would  be  more  cautiously  and  thoughtfully  given,  and 
at  length  it  would  be  found  that  better  work  might  be  done 
by  pressure  than  by  blows.  From  pressure  to  polishing 
would  again  be  but  a  small  step.  In  making  flint  imple- 
ments sparks  would  be  produced;  in  polishing  them  it  would 
not  fail  to  be  observed  that  they  became  hot,  and  in  this 


THE    HIGHER   ANIMALS.  585 

way  it  is  ea^y  to  see  how  the  two  methods  of  obtaining  fire 
may  have  originated*. 

The  chimpanzee  builds  himself  a  house  or  resting-place, 
quite  equal  to  that  of  same  savages.  Our  earliest  ancestors 
therefore  may  have  had  this  art ;  but  even  if  not,  when  they 
became  hunters,  and,  as  we  find  to  be  the  case  with  all 
hunting  tribes,  supplemented  the  inefficiency  of  their  wea- 
pons by  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  animals  on  which  they  preyed,  they  could  not 
fail  to  observe,  and  perhaps  to  copy,  the  houses  which  various 
species  of  animals  construct  for  themselves. 

The  Esquimaux  have  no  pottery;  they  use  hollow  stones 
as  a  substitute,  but  we  have  seen  ho\V  they  sometimes  im- 
prove upon  these  by  a  rim  of  clay.  To  extend  this  rim, 
diminish,  and  at  last  replace  the  stone,  is  an  obvious  process. 
In  hotter  countries,  vessels  of  wood,  or  the  shells  of  fruit, 
such  as  cocoa-nuts  and  gourds,  are  used  for  holding  Hquids. 
These  will  not  stand  fire,  but  in  some  cases,  by  plastering 
them  on  the  outside  with  clay,  they  are  enabled  to  do  so. 
There  is  some  evidence  that  this  obvious  improvement  has 
been  made  by  several  separate  tribes  even  in  modern  times. 
Other  similar  cases  might  be  mentioned,  in  which  by  a  very 
simple  and  apparently  obvious  process,  an  important  im- 
provement is  secured.  It  seems  very  improbable  that  any 
such  advantage  should  ever  be  lost  again.  There  is  no 
evidence,  says  Mr.  Tylorf,  ''of  any  tribe  giving  up  the  use 
of  the  spindle  to  twist  their  thread  by  hand,  or  having  been 
in  the  habit  of  working  the  fire-drill  with  a  thong,  and  going 
back  to  the  clumsier  practice  of  working  it  without,  and  it  is 
even  hard  to  fancy  such  a  thing  happening.''^  What  follows 
from  this  argument?     Evidently  that  the  lowest  races  of 

*  The  idea  of   nsing  fire  would      ning,  and  by  the  natural  fires  whicn 
also   have   been   suggested   by   vol-       occur  in  hot  summers, 
canoes,  by  trees  set  on  fire  by  light-  f  1.  c.  p.  364. 


586  THE    PRIMITIVE    CONDITION    OF   MAN. 

existing  savages  must^  always  assuming  the  common  origin 
of  the  human  race,  be  at  least  as  far  advanced  as  were  our 
ancestors  when  they  spread  over  the  earth's  surface. 

What,  then,  must  have  been  their  condition  ?  They  were 
ignorant  of  pottery,  for  the  Esquimaux,  the  Polynesians,  the 
Australians,  some  North  and  South  American  tribes,  and 
many  other  savage  races,  have  none  even  now,  or  at  least 
had  none  until  quite  lately.  They  had  no  bows  and  arrows, 
for  these  weapons  were  unknown  to  the  Australians  and 
New  Zealanders;  their  boats  for  the  same  reason  must  have 
been  of  the  rudest  possible  character;  they  were  naked,  and 
ignorant  of  the  art  of  spinning ;  they  had  no  knowledge  of 
agriculture,  and  probably  no  domestic  animal  but  the  dog, 
though  here  the  argument  is  weaker,  inasmuch  as  experience 
is  more  portable  than  property.  It  is,  however,  in  my 
opinion,  most  probable  that  the  dog  was  long  the  only 
domesticated  animal.  Of  the  more  unusual  weapons,  such 
as  the  boomerang,  blowpipe,  bolas,  etc.,  they  were  certainly 
ignorant.  The  sling  and  the  throwing- stick  were  doubtless 
unknown,  and  even  the  shield,  as  it  is  only  used  in  war,  had 
probably  not  been  invented.  The  spear,  which  is  but  a 
development  of  the  knife-point,  and  the  club,  which  is  but  a 
long  hammer,  are  the  only  things  left  by  this  line  of  argu- 
ment. They  seem  to  be  the  only  natural  and  universal 
weapons  of  man. 

We  might  be  disposed  to  wonder  how  man  was  at  first 
able  to  kill  game ;  but  we  must  remember  that  if  man  was 
unskilful,  animals  were  unsuspicious.  The  tameness  of  the 
birds  on  uninhabited  islands  is  well  known ;  the  wariness  of 
animals  and  the  skill  of  man  must  have  increased  almost 
pm'i  ijassu. 

The  same  argument  may  be  applied  to  the  mental  con- 
dition of  savages.  That  our  earliest  ancestors  could  have 
counted  to  ten  is  very  improbable,  considering  that  so  many 


DIFFUSION   OF   MAN.  587 

races  now  in  existence  cannot  get  beyond  four.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  very  improbal)le  that  man  can  have  existed 
in  a  lower  condition  than  that  thus  indicated.  So  long, 
indeed,  as  he  was  confined  to  the  tropics,  he  may  have  found 
a  succession  of  fruits,  and  have  lived  as  the  monkeys  do  now. 
Indeed,  according  to  Bates,  this  is  still  the  case  with  some 
of  the  Brazilian  Indians.  "  The  monkeys,'^  he  says,  "  lead 
in  fact  a  life  similar  to  that  of  the  Pararauatc  Indians." 
Directly,  however,  our  ancestors  spread  into  temperate  cli- 
mates, this  mode  of  life  would  become  impossible,  and  they 
would  be  compelled  to  seek  their  nourishment,  in  part  at 
least,  from  the  animal  kingdom.  Then,  if  not  before,  the 
knife  and  the  hammer  would  develope  into  the  spear  and 
the  club. 

It  is  too  often  supposed  that  the  world  was  peopled  by  a 
series  of  "migrations."  But  migrations,  properly  so  called, 
are  compatible  only  with  a  comparatively  high  state  of 
organization.  Moreover,  it  has  been  observed  that  the  geo- 
graphical distribution  of  the  various  races  of  Man  curiously 
coincides  with  that  of  other  races  of  animals  :  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  he  originally  crept  over  the  earth's  sur- 
face, little  by  little,  year  by  year,  just  for  instance  as  the 
weeds  of  Europe  are  now  gradually  but  surely  creeping  over 
the  surface  of  Australia. 

The  preceding  argument  assumes,  of  course,  the  unity  of 
the  human  race.  It  would,  however,  be  impossible  for  nie 
to  end  this  volume  without  saying  a  few  words  on  this  great 
question.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  principal  varieties 
of  mankind  are  of  great  antiquity.  We  find  on  the  earhest 
Egyptian  monuments,  some  of  which  are  certainly  as  ancient 
as  2400  B.C.,  "two  great  distinct  types,  the  Arab  on  the 
east  and  west  of  Egypt,  the  Negro  on  the  sotith ;  and  the 
Egyptian  type  occupying  a  middle  place  between  the  two. 
The  representations  of  the  monuments,  although   conven- 


588  EARLY    EACES    OF    MAN. 

tional,  are  so  extremely  characteristic  that  it  is  quite  impos- 
sible to  mistake  them."  These  distinct  types  still  predominate 
in  Egypt  and  the  neighbouring  countries.  Thus^  then,  says 
Mr.  Poole,  in  this  immense  interval  we  do  not  find  "the 
least  change  in  the  Negro  or  the  Arab ;  and  even  the  type 
which  seems  to  be  intermediate  between  them  is  virtually  as 
unaltered.  Those  who  consider  that  length  of  time  can 
change  a  type  of  man,  will  do  well  to  consider  the  fact  that 
three  thousand  years  give  no  ratio  on  which  a  calculation 
could  be  founded  *."  I  am,  howevei',  not  aware  that  it  is 
supposed  by  any  school  of  Ethnologists  that  "  time  "  alone, 
without  a  change  of  external  conditions,  will  produce  an 
alteration  of  type.  Let  us  turn  now  to  the  instances  relied 
on  by  Mr.  Crawfurdf.  The  millions,  he  says,  "^of  African 
Negroes  that  have  during  three  centuries  been  transported 
to  the  New  World  and  its  islands,  are  the  same  in  colour  as 
the  present  inhabitants  of  the  parent  country  of  their  fore- 
fathers. The  Creole  Spaniards,  who  have  for  at  least  as  long 
a  time  been  settled  in  tropical  America,  are  as  fair  as  the 
people  of  Arragon  and  Andalusia,  with  the  same  variety  of 
colour  in  the  hair  and  eye  as  their  progenitors.  The  pure 
Dutch  Creole  colonists  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  after 
dwelling  two  centuries  among  black  Caffres,  and  yellow  Hot- 
tentots, do  not  differ  in  colour  from  the  people  of  Holland.-'' 
Here,  on  the  contrary,  we  have  great  change  of  circum- 
stances, but  a  very  insufficient  lapse  of  time,  and  in  fact 
there  is  no  well-authenticated  case  in  which  these  two 
requisites  are  united.  But  Mr.  Crawfurd  went,  I  think,  too 
far  when  he  denied  altogether  any  change  of  type.  In  spite 
of  the  comparatively  short  time  which  has  elapsed,  and  of 
the  immense  immigration  which  has  been  kept  up,  there  is 
already  a  mai'ked  difference  between  the  EngHsh  of  Europe 

*  Poole,  Trans.  Ethn.  See.  New        t  Crawfurd,  Trans.  Ethn.  See.  New 
Ser.  vol.  ii.  p.  261.  Ser.  vol.  ii.  p.  252. 


THE    PRIMITIVE    CONDITION   OF    MAN.  589 

and  those  of  America,  and  it  would  be  desirable  to  inquire 
whether,  in  their  own  eyes,  the  Negroes  of  the  New  World 
exactly  resemble  those  of  Africa. 

But  there  are  some  reasons  which  make  it  probable  that 
changes  of  external  condition,  or  rather  of  country,  produce 
less  effect  now  than  was  formerly  the  case.  At  present, 
when  men  migrate  they  carry  with  them  the  manners  and 
appliances  of  civilized  life.  They  build  houses  more  or  less 
like  those  to  which  they  have  been  accustomed,  carry  with 
them  flocks  and  herds,  and  introduce  into  their  new  country 
the  principal  plants  which  served  them  for  food  in  the  old. 
If  their  new  abode  is  cold  they  increase  their  clothing,  if 
wurm,  they  diminish  it.  In  these  and  a  hundred  other  ways 
the  effect  which  would  otherwise  be  produced  is  greatly 
diminished. 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  this  has  not  always  been  the  case. 
When  man  first  spread  over  the  earth,  he  had  no  domestic 
animals,  perhaps  not  even  the  dog;  no  knowledge  of  agricul- 
ture:  his  weapons  were  of  the  rudest  character,  and  his 
houses  scarcely  worthy  of  the  name.  His  food,  habits,  and 
whole  manner  of  life  must  then  have  varied  as  he  passed 
from  one  country  to  another;  he  must  have  been  far  more 
subject  to  the  influence  of  external  circumstances,  and  iu  all ' 
probability  more  susceptible  of  change.  Moreover,  his  form, 
which  is  now  stereotyped  by  long  ages  of  repetition,  may 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  have  been  itself  more  plastic  than 
is  now  the  case. 

If  there  is  any  truth  in  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  will 
necessarily  follow  that  the  principal  varieties  of  man  are  of 
great  antiquity,  and  in  fact  go  back  almost  to  the  very  origin 
of  the  human  race.  We  may  then  cease  to  wonder  that  the 
earliest  paintings  on  Egyptian  tombs  represent  so  accurately 
several  varieties  still  existing  in  those  regions,  and  that  the 
Engis  skull,  probably  the  most  ancient  yet  found  in  Europe, 


590  NATURAL   SELECTION 

SO  closely  resembles  many  that  may  be  seen  even  at  the 
present  day. 

This  argument  has  been  carried  still  farther  by  Mr.  Wal- 
lace in  an  admirable  memoir  on  "  The  Origin  of  Human 
Eaces  and  the  Antiquity  of  Man  deduced  from  the  Theory 
of  Natural  Selection  *.^^  He  has  attempted  to  reconcile  the 
two  great  schools  of  ethnologists  who  hold  opinions  "so 
diametrically  opposed  to  each  other ;  the  one  party  positively 
maintaining  that  man  is  a  species,  and  is  essentially  one — 
that  all  differences  are  but  local  and  temporary  variations, 
produced  by  the  different  physical  and  moral  conditions  by 
which  he  is  surrounded ;  the  other  party  maintaining  with 
equal  confidence  that  man  is  a  genus  of  many  species,  each  of 
which  is  practically  unchangeable,  and  has  ever  been  as 
distinct,  or  even  more  distinct,  than  we  now  behold  them." 
Mr.  Wallace  himself  holds  the  former  of  these  theories, 
although  admitting  that  at  present  apparently  "  the  best  of 
the  argument  is  on  the  side  of  those  who  maintain  the 
primitive  diversity  of  man,"  and  he  shows  that  the  true 
solution  of  this  difficulty  lies  in  the  theory  of  Natural  Selec- 
tion, which,  with  characteristic  unselfishness,  he  ascribes  un- 
reservedly to  Mr.  Darwin,  although,  as  is  well  known,  he 
struck  out  the  idea  independently  and  published  it,  not 
indeed  with  the  same  elaboration,  at  the  same  time. 

After  explaining  the  true  nature  of  the  theory,  which  it 
must  be  confessed,  is  even  yet  very  much  misunderstood, 
he  points  out  that  as  long  as  man  led  what  may  be  called  a 
mere  animal  existence,  he  would  be  subject  to  the  same  laws, 
and  would  vary  in  the  same  manner  as  the  rest  of  his  fellow- 
creatures,  but  that  at  length  "  by  the  capacity  of  clothing 
himself,  and  making  weapons  and  tools  (he)  has  taken  away 
from  nature  that  power  of  changing  the  external  form  and 

structure  which  she  exercises  over  all  other  animals 

*  Anthropological  Review,  May,  1 864. 


APPLIED   TO   MAN.  591 

From  the  time,  tlien,  wlien  tlie  social  and  sympathetic  feel- 
ings came  into  active  operation,  and  the  intellectual  and 
moral  faculties  became  fairly  developed,  man  would  cease  to 
be  influenced  by  natural  selection  in  his  physical  form  and 
structure;  as  an  animal  he  would  remain  almost  stationary : 
the  changes  of  the  surrounding  universe  would  cease  to  have 
upon  him  that  powerful  modifying  effect  which  it  exercises 
over  other  parts  of  the  organic  world.  But  from  the  moment 
that  his  body  became  stationary,  his  mind  would  become 
subject  to  those  very  influences  from  which  his  body  had 
escaped ;  every  slight  variation  in  his  mental  and  moral  nature 
which  should  enable  him  better  to  guard  against  adverse 
circumstances,  and  combine  for  mutual  comfort  and  protec- 
tion, would  be  preserved  and  accumulated ;  the  better  and 
higher  specimens  of  our  race  would  therefore  increase  and 
spread,  the  lower  and  more  brutal  would  give  way  and 
successively  die  out,  and  that  rapid  advancement  of  mental 
organization  would  occur,  which  has  raised  the  very  lowest 
races  of  men  so  far  above  the  brutes  (although  differing  so 
little  from  some  of  them  in  physical  structure),  and,  in 
conjunction  with  scarcely  perceptible  modifications  of  form, 
has  developed  the  wonderful  intellect  of  the  Germanic 
races*.^* 

Mr.  Wallace  appears  to  me,  however,  to  press  his  argu- 
ment a  little  too  far  when  he  says  that  man  is  no  longer 
"influenced  by  natural  selection,"  and  that  his  body  has 
"  become  stationary."  Slow  and  gradual  changes  still  take 
place,  although  his  "  mere  bodily  structure "  long  ago  be- 
came of  less  importance  to  man  than  "that  subtle  force  we 
term  mind."  This,  as  Mr.  Wallace  eloquently  says,  "  with 
a  naked  and  unprotected  body,  tliis  gave  him  clothing  against 

*  M.  Lartet  has  attempted  to  show      compared  with  the  rest  of  the  body. 
(hat  even  among  animals  there  is  a       Comptes  Rendus,  1868,  p.  1119. 
gvadual  enlargemeut  of  the  braiu  as 


592  THE    INFLUENCE    OF   MIND. 

the  varying  inclemencies  of  the  seasons.  Though  unable  to 
compete  with  the  deer  in  swiftness,  or  with  the  wild  bull 
in  strength,  this  gave  him  weapons  wherewith  to  capture 
or  overcome  both.  Though  less  capable  than  most  other 
animals  of  living  on  the  herbs  and  the  fruits  that  unaided 
nature  supplies,  this  wonderful  faculty  taught  him  to  govern 
and  direct  nature  to  his  own  benefit,  and  make  her  produce 
food  for  him  when  and  where  he  pleased.  From  the  mo- 
ment when  the  first  skin  w^as  used  as  a  covering,  when  the 
first  rude  spear  was  formed  to  assist  in  the  chase,  the  first 
seed  sown  or  shoot  planted,  a  grand  revolution  was  efiected 
in  nature,  a  revolution  which  in  all  the  previous  ages  of  the 
world's  history  had  had  no  parallel,  for  a  being  had  arisen 
who  was  no  longer  necessarily  subject  to  change  with  the 
changing  universe, — a  being  who  was  m  some  degree 
superior  to  nature,  inasmuch  as  he  knew  how  to  con- 
trol and  regulate  her  action,  and  could  keep  himself  in 
harmony  with  her,  not  by  a  change  in  body,  but  by  an 
advance  in  mind. 

"Here,  then,  we  see  the  true  grandeur  and  dignity  of 
man.  On  this  view  of  his  special  attributes,  we  may  admit 
that  even  those  who  claim  for  him  a  position  and  an  order,  a 
class,  or  a  sub-kingdom  by  himself,  have  some  reason  on 
their  side.  He  is,  indeed,  a  being  apart,  since  he  is  not 
influenced  by  the  great  laws  which  irresistibly  modify  all 
other  organic  beings.  Nay,  more :  this  victory  which  he 
has  gained  for  himself  gives  him  a  directing  influence  over 
other  existences.  Man  has  not  only  escaped  ^natural  selec- 
tion^ himself,  but  he  is  actually  able  to  take  away  some  of 
that  power  from  nature  which,  before  his  appearance,  she 
universally  exercised.  We  can  anticipate  the  time  when  the 
earth  will  produce  only  cultivated  plants  and  domestic  ani- 
mals ;  when  man's  selection  shall  have  supplanted  '  natural 
selection;'  and  when  the  ocean  will  be  the  only  domain  in 


INCREASE   OP   HAPPINESS.  693 

wtich  that  power  can  be  exerted,  which  for  countless  cycles 
of  ages  ruled  supreme  over  the  earth." 

Thus,  then,  the  great  principle  of  Natural  Selection,  which 
is  to  biology  what  the  law  of  gravitation  is  for  astronomy, 
not  only  throws  an  unexpected  light  on  the  past,  but 
illuminates  the  future  with  hope;  nor  can  I  but  feel  sur- 
prised that  a  theory  which  thus  teaches  us  humility  for  the 
past,  faith  in  the  present,  and  hope  for  the  future,  should 
have  been  regarded  as  opposed  to  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity or  the  interests  of  true  religion. 

But  even  if  the  theory  of  "  natural  selection "  should 
eventually  prove  to  be  untenable,  and  if  those  are  right  who 
believe  that  neither  ou)'  minds  nor  our  bodies  are  susceptible 
of  any  important  change,  any  great  improvement,  still  I 
thmk  we  are  justified  in  believing  that  the  happiness  of  man 
is  greatly  on  the  increase.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  if 
any  animal  increases  in  numbers  it  must  be  because  the  con- 
ditions are  becoming  more  favourable  to  it,  in  other  wordSj 
because  it  is  happier  and  more  comfortable.  Now,  how  will 
this  test  apply  to  man?  Schoolcraft  estimates*  that  in  a 
population  which  lives  on  the  produce  of  the  chase,  each 
hunter  requires  on  an  average  50,000  acres,  or  78  square 
miles  for  his  support.  Again,  he  tells  usf  that,  excluding 
Michigan  territory,  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  north  of 
Illinois,  there  were  in  the  United  States,  in  1825,  about 
97,000  Indians,  occupying  77,000,000  of  acres,  or  120,312 
square  miles.  This  gives  one  inhabitant  to  every  Ij  square 
miles.  In  this  case,  however,  the  Indians  lived  partly  on  the 
subsidies  granted  them  by  Government  in  exchange  for 
land,  and  the  population  was  therefore  greater  than  would 
liavc  been  the  case  if  they  had  lived  entirely  on  the  produce 
of  the  chase.  The  same  reason  affects,  though  to  a  smaller 
extent,  the  Indians  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  teri'itory.     These 

»•=  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  i.  p.  433.  f  1.  c.  vol.  iii.  p.  575. 

40 


594  SUFFERINGS   OF   SAVAGES 

tribes  were  estimated  by  Sir  George  Simpson,  late  Governor 
of  the  territories  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
in  liis  evidence  given  before  the  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  in  1857,  at  139,000,  and  the  extent  is  supposed 
to  be  more  than  1,400,000  square  miles,  to  which  we  must 
add  13,000  more  for  Vancouver's  Island,  making  a  total  of 
more  than  900,000,000  of  acres ;  about  6500  acres,  or  10 
square  miles,  to  eacb  individual.  Again,  the  inhabitants  of 
Patagonia,  south  of  40°,  and  exclusive  of  Chiloe  and  Tierra 
del  Fuego,  are  estimated  by  Admiral  Fitzroy  at  less  than 
4000,  and  the  number  of  acres  is  176,640,000,  giving  more 
than  44,000  acres,  or  68  square  miles  for  each  i:)erson.  A 
writer  in  the  "  Voice  of  Pity,"  however,  thinks  that  their 
numbers  may,  perhaps,  amount  to  14,000  or  15,000*.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  form  any  census  of  the  aborigines'  in 
Australia ;  Mr.  Oldfield  estimates  that  there  is  one  native  to 
every  fifty  square  miles  f;  and  it  is  at  least  evident  that, 
since  the  introduction  of  civilization,  the  total  population  of 
that  continent  has  greatly  increased. 

Indeed,  population  as  a  general  rule  increases  with 
civilization.  Paraguay,  with  100,000  square  miles,  has  from 
300,000  to  500,000  inhabitants,  or  about  four  to  a  square 
mile.  The  uncivilized  parts  of  Mexico  contained  374,000 
inhabitants  in  675,000  square  miles;  while  Mexico  proper, 
witli  833,600  square  miles,  had  6,691,000  inhabitants.  Naples 
had  more  than  183  inhabitants  to  each  square  mile;  Venetia 
more  than  200,  Lombardy  280,  England  280,  Belgium  as 
many  as  320. 

Finally,  we  cannot  but  observe  that,  under  civilization, 
the  means  of  subsistence  have  increased,  even  more  rapidly 
than  the  population.  Far  from  suffering  for  want  of  food, 
the  more  densely  peopled  countries  are  exactly  those  in 
which  it  is,  not  only  absolutely,  but  even  relatively  most 

*  1.  c.  vol.  ii.  p.  93.  t  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  New  Ser.  vol.  iii.  p.  220. 


SHOWN    BY   INCREASE    OP   NUMBERS.  596 

abundant.  It  is  said  that  any  one  who  makes  two  blades  of 
grass  grow  where  one  grew  before,  is  a  benefactor  to  the 
human  race ;  what,  then,  shall  we  say  of  that  which  enables 
a  thousand  men  to  live  in  plenty,  where  one  savage  could 
scarcely  find  a  scanty  and  precai'ious  subsistence  ? 

There  are,  indeed,  many  who  doubt  whether  happinesa 
is  increased  by  civilization,  and  who  talk  of  the  free  and 
noble  savage.  But  the  true  savage  is  neither  free  nor 
noble;  he  is  a  slave  to  his  own  wants,  his  own  passions; 
imperfectly  protected  from  the  weather,  he  suffers  from  the 
cold  by  night  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  day ;  ignorant  of 
agriculture,  living  by  the  chase,  and  improvident  in  success, 
hunger  always  stares  him  in  the  face,  and  often  drives  him  to 
the  dreadful  alternative  of  cannibalism  or  death. 

Wild  animals  are  always  in  danger.  Mr.  Galton,  who  is 
so  well  qualified  to  form  an  opinion,  believes  that  the  life  of 
all  beasts  in  their  wild  state  is  an  exceedingly  anxious  one ; 
that  "  every  antelope  in  South  Africa  has  litei'ally  to  run 
for  its  life  once  in  every  one  or  two  days  upon  an  average, 
and  that  he  starts  or  gallops  under  the  influence  of  a  false 
alarm  many  times  in  a  day  *."  So  it  is  with  the  savage ;  he 
is  always  suspicious,  always  in  danger,  always  on  the  watch. 
He  can  depend  on  no  one,  and  no  one  can  depend  upon  him. 
He  expects  nothing  from  his  neighbour,  and  does  unto  others 
as  he  believes  that  they  would  do  unto  him.  Thus  his  life 
is  one  prolonged  scene  of  selfishness  and  fear.  Even  in  his 
religion,  if  he  has  any,  he  creates  for  himself  a  new  source  of 
terror,  and  peoples  the  world  with  invisible  enemies.  The 
position  of  the  female  savage  is  even  more  wretched  than 
that  of  her  master.  She  not  only  shares  his  sufferings,  but 
has  to  bear  his  ill-humour  and  ill-usage.  She  may  truly  be 
said  to  be  little  better  than  his  dog,  little  dearer  than  his 
horse.  In  Australia,  Mr.  Oldfield  never  saw  a  woman's 
*  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc.  New  Ser.  vol.  iii.  p.  133. 


596  SUPERSTITIOUS   TEKEORS    OF    SAVAGES. 

grave,  and  does  not  tHink  that  the  natives  took  the  trouble 
to  bury  them.  But,  indeed,  he  believes  that  few  of  them 
are  so  fortunate  as  to  die  a  natural  death,  "they  being 
generally  despatched  ere  they  become  old   and  emaciated, 

that  so  much  good  food  may  not  be  lost In  fine,  so 

little  importance  is  attached  to  them,  either  before  or  after 
death,  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  man  does  not 
value  his  dog,  when  alive,  quite  as  much  as  he  does  his 
woman,  and  think  of  both  quite  as  often  and  lovingly  after 
he  has  eaten  them*.'^ 

Not  content,  moreover,  with  those  incident  to  their  mode 
of  life,  savages  appear  to  take  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  self- 
inflicted  sufferings.  Besides  the  very  general  practice  of 
tattooing,  the  most  extraordinary  methods  of  disfigurement 
and  self-torture  are  adopted ;  some  cut  off  the  little  finger, 
some  make  an  immense  hole  in  the  under-lip,  or  pierce  the 
cartilage  of  the  nose.  The  Easter  Islanders  enlarge  their  ears' 
till  they  come  down  to  their  shoulders  ;  the  Chinooks,  and 
many  other  American  tribes,  alter  the  shape  of  their  heads. 
Some  of  the  African  tribes  chip  their  teeth  in  various  manners, 
each  community  having  a  fashion  of  its  own.  The  Nyambanas, 
a  division  of  the  Caffres,  are  characterized  by  a  row  of  artifi- 
cial pimples  or  warts,  about  the  size  of  a  pea,  and  extending 
from  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead  to  the  tip  of  the  nose.  Of 
these  they  are  very  proud  f.  Among  the  Bachapins,  those 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  battle,  are  allowed  the 
privilege  of  marking  "  their  thigh  with  a  long  scar,  which  is 
rendered  indelible  and  of  a  bluish  colour  by  means  of  wood 
ashes  rubbed  into  the  fresh  wound  J.^'  In  Australia  Captain 
King  saw  a  native  ornamented  with  horizontal  scars  which  ex- 
tended across  the  upper  part  of  the  chest.     They  were  at  least 

*  Trans.     Efchn.     Soc.    New   Ser.       pedition,  vol.  i.  p.  63. 
vol.  iii.  p.  248.  %  Burcliell,  1.  o.    vol.  ii.  pp.  478. 

t  United    States'  Ej^lormg  Es-      535. 


SELF-INFLICTED    SUFFERINGS.  597 

an  inch  in  diameter,  and  protruded  half  an  inch  from  the 
body*.  In  some  parts  of  Australia,  and^n  Tasmania,  all  the 
men  have  a  tooth  knocked  out  in  a  very  clumsy  and  painful 
manner f.  "The  inhabitants  of  Tanna  have  on  their  arms 
and  bellies  elevated  scars,  representing  plants,  flowers,  stars 
and  virions  other  figures.  They  are  made  by  first  cutting  the 
skin  with  a  sharp  bamboo  reed,  and  then  applying  a  certain 
plant  to  the  wound  which  raises  the  scar  above  the  rest  of 
the  skin.  The  inhabitants  of  Tazavan,  or  Formosa,  by  a  very 
painful  operation,  impress  on  their  naked  skins  various  figures 
of  trees,  flowers,  and  animals.  The  great  men  in  Guinea  have 
their  skin  flowered  like  damask;  and  in  the  Deccan  the  women 
likewise  have  flowers  cut  into  their  flesh  on  the  forehead,  the 
arms  and  the  breast^  and  the  elevated  scars  are  painted  in 
colours,  and  exhibit  the  appearance  of  flowered  damask  J." 
The  native  women  in  New  South  Wales  used  to  tie  a  string 
tightly  round  the  little  finger  and  wear  it  until  the  finger 
rotted  off*.  Few  of  them  escaped  the  painful  experience  §. 
The  American  Indians  also  inflicted  the  most  horrible  tor- 
tures upon  themselves  ||.  These  and  many  other  curious  prac- 
tices are  none  the  less  painful  because  they  are  voluntary. 

If  we  turn  to  the  bright  side  of  the  question,  the  whole 
analogy  of  nature  justifies  us  in  concluding  that  the  pleasures 
of  civilized  man  are  greater"  than  those  of  the  savage.  As 
we  descend  in  the  scale  of  organization,  we  find  that  animals 
become  more  and  more  vegetative  in  their  characteristics ; 
with  less  susceptibility  to  pain,  and  consequently  less  capa- 
city for  happiness.  It  may,  indeed,  be  doubted  whether 
some  of  those  beings,  which  from  their  anatomy  we  are  com- 
pelled to  class  as  animals,  have  much  more  consciousness  of 

*  Narrative   of  a   Survey  of  the  %  Forster,  1.  c.  p.  588. 

Intertropical  and  Western  Coasts  of  §  D'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  406. 

Australia,    p.  42.      See   also   Eyre's  ||   See,  for  instance,  Catlin's  North 

account,  quoted  in  p.  435.  American     Indians,    vol.   i.    p.    170. 

,  f  Froyciuct,  vol.  ii.  p.  705.  Azara,  vol.  ii.  p.  136. 


598  THE    BLESSINGS    OP   CIVILIZATION. 

enjoyment^  or  even  of  existence,  tlian  a  tree  or  a  seaweed.. 
But  even  to  animais  which  possess  a  clearly  defined  nervous 
system,  we  must  ascribe  very  different  degrees  of  sensibility. 
The  study  of  the  sensory  organs  in  the  lower  animals  offers 
great  difficulties;  but  at  least  we  know  that  they  are,  in 
many  cases,  few  in  number,  and  capable  of  conveying  only 
general  impressions.  Every  one  will  admit  that  the  posses- 
sion of  a  new  sense,  or  the  improvement  of  an  old  one,  is  a 
fresh  source  of  possible  happiness ;  but  how,  it  may  be  asked, 
does  this  affect  the  present  question?  There  are  no  just 
grounds  for  expecting  man  to  be  ever  endued  with  a  sixth 
sense ;  so  far  from  being  able  to  improve  the  organization  of 
the  eye  or  the  ear,  we  cannot  make  one  hair  black  or  white, 
nor  add  one  cubit  to  our  stature.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
the  invention  of  the  telescope  and  microscope  is  equivalent 
in  its  results  to  an  immense  improvement  of  the  eye,  and 
opens  up  to  us  new  worlds,  fresh  sources  of  interest  and 
happiness.  Again  we  cannot  alter  the  physical  structure  of 
the  ear,  but  we  can  train  it,  we  can  invent  new  musical  instru- 
ments, compose  new  melodies.  The  music  of  savages  is  rude 
and  melancholy  in  comparison  with  ours ;  and  thus,  though 
the  ear  of  man  may  not  have  appreciably  altered,  the  pleasure 
which  we  may  derive  from  it  has  been  immensely  increased. 
Moreover,  the  savage  is  like  a  thild  who  sees  and  hears  only 
that  which  is  brought  directly  before  him,  but  the  civilized 
man  questions  nature,  and  by  the  various  processes  of  chem- 
istry, by  electricity,  and  magnetism,  by  a  thousand  ingenious 
contrivances,  he  forces  nature  to  throw  light  upon  herself, 
discovers  hidden  uses  and  unsuspected  beauties,  almost  as  if 
he  were  endowed  with  some  entirely  new  organ  of  sense. 

The  love  of  travel  is  deeply  implanted  in  the  human 
breast ;  it  is  an  immense  pleasure  to  visit  other  countries, 
and  see  new  races  of  men.  Again,  the  discovery  of  printing 
brings  all  who  choose  into   communion  with  the  greatest 


THE    DIMINUTION    OF    SUFFERING.  599 

minds.  The  thoughts  of  a-Shakespeare  or  a  Tennyson,  the 
discoveries  of  a  Newton  or  a  Darwin,  become  thus  the 
common  property  of  mankind.  Ah-cady  the  results  of  this 
all-important,  though  simple,  process  have  been  equivalent 
to  an  immense  improvement  of  our  mental  faculties  ;  and  day 
by  day,  as  books  become  cheaper,  schools  are  established,  and 
education  is  improved,  a  greater  and  greater  eflfect  will  be 
produced. 

The  well-known  proverb  against  looking  a  gift  horse  in 
the  mouth  does  not  apply  to  the  gifts  of  nature  ;  they  will 
bear  the  closest  inspection,  and  the  more  we  examine,  the 
more  we  shall  find  to  admire.  Nor  are  these  new  sources  of 
happiness  accompanied  by  any  new  liability  to  suffering ;  on 
the  contrary,  while  our  pleasures  are  increased,  our  pains  are 
lessened ;  in  a  thousand  ways  we  can  avoid  or  diminish  evils 
which  to  our  ancestors  were  great  and  inevitable.  How 
much  misery,  for  instance,  has  been  spared  to  the  human 
race  by  the  single  discovery  of  chloroform  ?  The  capacity 
for  pain,  so  far  as  it  can  serve  as  a  warning,  remains  in  full 
force,  but  the  necessity  for  endurance  has  been  greatly 
diminished.  With  increased  knowledge  of,  and  attention 
to,  the  laws  of  health,  disease  will  become  less  and  less  fre- 
quent. Those  tendencies  thereto  which  we  have  derived 
from  our  ancestors,  will  gradually  die  out ;  and  if  fresh  seeds 
are  not  sown,  our  race  may  one  day  enjoy  the  inestimable 
advantages  of  health. 

Thus,  then,  with  the  increasing  influence  of  science,  we 
may  confidently  look  to  a  great  improvement  in  the  condition 
of  man.  But  it  may  be  said  that  our  present  sufferings  and 
sorrows  arise  principally  from  sin,  and  that  any  moral  im- 
provement must  be  due  to  religion,  not  to  science.  This 
separation  of  the  two  mighty  agents  of  improvement  is  the 
great  misfortune  of  humanity,  and  has  done  more  than  any 
thing  else  to  retard  the  progress  of  civiUzation.     But  even  if 


600  THE    DIMINUTION   OF    SIN. 

for  the  inoment  we  admit  that  .science  ■will  not  render  ns 
more  virtuous^  it  must  certainly  make  us  more  innocent. 
Out  of  180,000  persons  committed  to  prison  in  England  and 
Wales  during  the  year  1867,  only  4137  could  read  and  write 
well.  In  fact,  our  criminal  population  are  mere  savages,  and 
most  of  their  crimes  are  but  injudicious  and  desperate 
attempts  to  live  as  a  savage  in  the  midst,  and  at  the  expense,, 
of  a  civilized  community. 

Men  do  not  sin  for  the  sake  of  sinning;  they  yield  to 
temptation.  Most  of  our  sufferings  arise  from  a  mistaken 
pursuit  of  pleasure ;  from  a  misapprehension  of  that  which 
constitutes  true  happiness.  Men  do  wrong  either  from  igno- 
rance or  in  the  hope,  unexpi^essed  perhaps  even  to  themselves_, 
that  they  may  enjoy  the  pleasure,  and  yet  avoid  the  penalty 
of  sin.  In  this  respect  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  religious 
teaching  is  much  misapprehended.  Repentance  is  too  often 
regarded  as  a  substitute  for  punishment.  Sin  it  is  thought 
is  followed  either  by  the  one  or  the  other.  So  far,  however, 
as  our  world  is  concerned,  this  is  not  the  case ;  repentance 
may  enable  a  man  to  avoid  sin  in  future,  but  has  no  effect  on 
the  consequences  of  the  past.  The  laws  of  nature  are 
just,  and  salutary,  but  they  are  also  inexorable.  All  men 
admit  that  "  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,^^  but  thyy  seem  to 
think  that  this  is  a  general  rule  to  which  there  may  be  many 
exceptions, — that  some  sins  may. possibly  tend  to  happiness, 
that  some  thorns  may  grow  grapes,  some  thistles  produce 
figs.  That  suffering  is  the  inevitable  consequence  of  sin,  as 
surely  as  night  follows  day,  is,  however,  the  stern  yet 
salutary  teaching  of  Science.  And  surely  if  this  lesson  were 
thoroughly  impressed  upon  our  minds,  if  we  really  believed  in 
the  certainty  of  punishment,  and  that  sin  could  not  conduce 
to  happiness;  temptation,  which  is  at  the  very  root  of  crime, 
would  be  cut  away,  and  mankind  must  necessarily  become 
more  innocent. 


THE   ADVANTAGES    OF    SCIENCE.  601 

May  we  not,  however,  go  even  farther  than  this,  and  say 
that  science  will  also  render  man  more  virtuous.  "  To  pass 
our  time/'  says  Lord  Brougham*,  "in  the  study  of  the 
sciences,  in  learning  what  others  have  discovered,  and  in 
extending  the  bounds  of  human  knowledge  has,  in  all  ages, 
been  reckoned  the  most  dignified  and  happy  of  human  occu- 
pations  No  man  until  he  has  studied  philosophy, 

can  have  a  just  idea  of  the  great  things  for  which  Providence 
has  fitted  his  understanding ;  the  extraordinary  dispropor- 
tion which  there  is  between  his  natural  strength  and  the 
powers  of  his  mind,  and  the  force  he  derives  from  them." 
Finally,  ho  concludes  that  science  would  not  only  "  make  our 
lives  moi'c  agreeable,  but  better ;  and  that  a  rational  being  is 
bound  by  every  motive  of  interest  and  duty,  to  direct  his 
mind  towards  pursuits  which  are  found  to  be  the  sure  path 
of  virtue  as  well  as  of  happiness. '^ 

We  are  in  reality  but  on  the  threshold  of  civilization.  Far 
from  showing  any  .indication  of  having  come  to  an  end,  the 
tendency  to  improvement  seems  latterly  to  have  proceeded 
with  augmented  impetus  and  accelerated  rapidity.  Why, 
then,  should  we  suppose  that  it  must  now  cease  ?  Man  has 
surely  not  reached  the  limits  of  his  intellectual  development, 
and  it  is  certain  that  he  has  not  exhausted  the  infinite  capa- 
bilities of  nature.  There  are  many  things  which  are  not  as 
yet  dreamt  of  in  our  philosophy ;  many  discoveries  which 
will  immortalize  those  who  make  them,  and  confer  upon  the 
human  race  advantages  which  as  yet,  perhaps,  we  are  not 
in  a  condition  to  appreciate.  We  may  still  say  with  our 
great  countryman.  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  that  we  have  been 
but  like  children,  playing  on  the  sea-shore,  and  picking  up 
here  and  there  a  smoother  pebble  or  a  prettier  shell  than 
ordinary,  while  the  great  ocean  of  truth  lies  all  undiscovered 
before  us. 

*  Objects,  Advantages,  and  Pleasures  of  Scionco,  p.  39. 


602  THE    PUTUBE. 

Thus,  then,  the  most  sanguine  hopes  for  the  future  are 
justified  by  the  whole  experience  of  the  past.  It  is  surely 
unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  process  which  has  been  going 
on  for  so  many  thousand  years,  should  have  now  suddenly 
ceased ;  and  he  must  be  blind  indeed  who  imagines  that  our 
civilization  is  unsusceptible  of  improvement,  or  that  we  our- 
selves are  in  the  highest  state  attainable  by  man. 

If  we  turn  from  experience  to  theory,  the  same  conclusion 
forces  itself  upon  us.  The  great  principle  of  natural  selection, 
which  in  animals  afiects  the  body  and  seems  to  have  little 
influence  on  the  mind,  in  man  affects  the  mind  and  has 
little  influence  on  the  body.  In  the  first  it  tends  mainly  to 
the  preservation  of  life ;  in  the  second  to  the  improvement  of 
the  mind,  and  consequently  to  the  increase  of  happiness.  It 
ensures,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  ''  a  constant 
progress  towards  a  higher  degree  of  skill,  intelligence,  and 
self-regulation — a  better  co-ordination  of  actions — a  more 
complete  life*."  Even  those,  however,  who  are  dissatisfied 
with  the  reasoning  of  Mr.  Darwin,  and  believe  that  neither 
our  mental  nor  om*  material  organization  is  susceptible  of  any 
considerable  change,  may  still  look  forward  to  the  future  with 
hope.  The  tendency  of  recent  improvements  and  discoveries 
is  less  to  effect  any  rapid  change  in  man  himself,  than  to 
bring  him  into  harmony  with  nature  j  less  to  confer  upon 
him  new  powers,  than  to  teach  him  how  to  apply  the  old. 

It  will,  I  think,  be  admitted  that  of  the  evils  under  which 
we  suffer,  nearly  all  may  be  attributed  either  to  ignorance  or 
sin.  That  ignorance  will  be  diminished  by  the  progress  of 
science  is  of  course  self-evident, — that  the  same  will  be  the 
case  with  sin,  seems  little  less  so.  Thus,  then,  both  theory 
and  experience  point  to  the  same  conclusion.  The  future 
happiness  .of  our  race,  which  poets  hardly  ventured  to  hope 

*  Herbert  Spencer,  A  Theory  of  Population  deduced  fiom  the  General 
Law  of  Animal  Fertility,  p.  34. 


THE    FUTURE.  G03 

for,  science  boldly  predicts.  Utopia,  which  we  have  long 
looked  upon  as  synonymous  with  an  evident  impossibility, 
which  we  have  ungratefully  regarded  as  "  too  good  to  be 
true,''  turns  out  on  the  contrary  to  be  the  necessary  con- 
sequence of  natural  laws,  and  once  more  we  find  that  the 
simple  truth  exceeds  the  most  brilliant  flights  of  the  imagi- 
nation. 

Even  in  our  own  time  we  may  hope  to  see  some  improve- 
ment ;  but  the  unselfish  mind  will  find  its  highest  gratifica- 
tion in  the  belief  that,  whatever  may  be  the  case  with 
ourselves,  our  descendants  will  understand  many  things 
which  are  hidden  from  us  now,  will  better  appreciate  the 
beautiful  world  in  which  we  live,  avoid  much  of  that  suffer- 
ing to  which  we  are  subject,  enjoy  many  blessings  of  which 
we  are  not  yet  worthy,  and  escape  many  of  those  temptations 
which  we  deplore,  but  cannot  wholly  resist. 


APPENDIX. 


Page  11. 

We  do  not  yet  know  at  what  time  the  use  of  Runes  commenced. 
The  examples  found  at  Thoi'sbjerg  and  Nydam  carry  them  back 
to  the  second  or  third  century,  but  they  may  have  begun  much 
earlier.  They  remained  partially  in  use  in  out-of-the-Avay  dis- 
tricts of  Scandinavia  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
Runic  monuments  occur  in  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  England, 
and,  though  rarely,  in  Ireland  ;  but  are  more  abundant  in  Sweden 
than  any  where  else.  Prof.  Stephens  *  states  that  there  are 
three  times  as  many  in  Sweden  as  in  all  other  northern  countries 
together,  and  he  estimates  the  total  number  in  Sweden  at  not  less 
than  two  thousand. 

The  Runic  Alphabet,  or  Futhorc,  is  as  follows : — 

F.  ^  b.  'A.  R.  I'.  *.  K.  I.  ^'  1-  4.  I.  h.  Y.     A. 

F  U  th  0  R  K  H  N  I  A  S  T  B  L  M  (CE,  Y) 
There  are,  however,  several  varieties,  thus  ^,  sometimes  stands 
for  o,  \,  for  n,  (7.  for  s,  f.  for  t,  4.  for  d,  and  }.  for  e.  There  is 
also  a  class  of  letters  known  as  tree-runes,  which  are  entirely  un- 
like the  rest.  The  letters  given  above  are  those  generally  used 
in  the  engravings  on  stones  in  the  great  tumulus  known  as 
Maeshowe,  near  the  Stones  of  Stennis,  in  the  Orkneys  f,  and  are 
supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  a  party  of  Northmen  who 
broke  into  the  Howe  in  the  ninth  century.  The  numerous 
variations  in  the  forms  of  the  letters,  and  the  fact  that  they  are 
sometimes  read  from  left  to  right,  sometimes  from  right  to  left, 
make  them  at  times  somewhat  difficult  to  decipher,  but  it  fortu- 
nately happens  that  we  possess  no  less  than  61  Runic  Futhorcs, 
60  that  any  inscription  which  is  at  all  perfect,  and  not  too  much 
abbreviated,  can  be  read  with  tolerable  certainty. 

*  The  Old-Northorn  Runic  Monuments  of  Scandinavia,  p.  134. 
f  Maeshowe.    By.  J.  Farrar,  Esq.,  M.P. 


APPENDIX. 


605 


OGHAMS. 

The  origin  of  the  Ogham  alphabet  is  as  uncertain  as  that  of  the 
Runic.  While,  however,  the  Runes  occur  principally  in  Scandi- 
navia, and  but  rai'ely  in  Great  Britain,  Oghams  on  the  other  hand, 
have  their  head-quarters  in  Ireland,  though  some  few  have  been 
discovered  in  Scotland  and  even  in  Shetland.    They  are  generally 

Fio.  227.  Fio.  228. 


J=\'', 


^U) 


m 

^0- 


\ 


\ 


)^\ 


Ogham  Stones  found  in  Kerry. 

intended  to  be  read  from  below  upwards,  and  the  letters  consist 
of  mere  straight  strokes,  arranged  in  groups  along  a  line.  This 
line  is  very  often  the  edge  of  the  stone,  but  sometimes  a  line  is 


606  APPENDIX. 

cut.  In  other  cases  an  imaginary  line  is  supposed  to  run  through 
the  inscription.  Short  lines,  or  notches,  stand  for  the  vowels, 
a,  o,  u,  e,  i  ;  one  notch  denoting  a,  two  o,  thi*ee  u,  and  so  on. 
Lines  on  the  left  of  the  base  line  stand  for  b,  1,  f,  s,  and  n,  accord- 
ing as  they  are  1,  2,  3,  4,  or  5  in  number;  lines  on  the  right  of 
the  base  line  stand  in  the  same  manner  for  h,  d,  t,  c,  and  q;  while 
those  crossing  the  line  denote  m,  g,  ng,  st,  or  z,  and  r.  There  are 
some  few  other  characters,  which,  however,  seldom  occur. 

Almost  all  the  Ogham  inscriptions  which  have  yet  been  read  are 
mere  patronymics,  containing  the  name  of  the  person  in  whose 
honour  the  stone  was  erected.  Thus  the  above  figure  (fig.  227) 
of  an  Ogham  stone  found  in  Kerry  reads  thus  :  Nocati  maqi  maqi 
ret(ti),  i.  e.  (The  Stone)  of  Nocat,  the  son  of  Macreith;  the  inscrip- 
tion on  fig.  228  is,  Maqi  Mucoi  Uddami,  i.  e.  (The  Stone)  of  Uddam 
Mac  Mucoi. 


Page  56. 

Staigue  Fort,  in  the  County  of  Kerry,  is  "  an  enclosure,  nearly 
circular,  114  feet  in  diameter,  88  feet  from  east  to  west,  and 
87  from  north  to  south.  The  stones  are  put  together  without 
any  description  of  mortar  or  cement ;  the  wall  is  13  ieet  thick 
at  the  bottom,  and  5  feet  2  inches  broad  at  top  at  the  highest 
part,  where  some  of  the  old  coping  stones  still  remain,  and 
which  is  there  17  feet  6  inches  high  upon  the  inside.  It 
has  one  square  doorway  in  the  s.s.w.  side,  5  feet  9  inches 
high,  with  sloping  sides,  4  feet  2  inches  wide  at  top,  and  5  feet  at 
bottom.  In  the  substance  of  this  massive  wall,  and  opening  in- 
wards, are  two  small  chambers;  the  one  on  the  west  side  is  12  feet 
long,  4  feet  7  inches  wide,  and  6  feet  6  inches  high;  the  northern 
chamber  is  7  feet  4  inches  long,  4  feet  9  inches  wide,  and  7  feet 
high.  They  formed  a  part  of  the  original  plan,  and  were  not,  like 
other  apertures  in  some  similar  structures,  filled-up  gateways. 
Around  the  interior  of  the  wall  are  ari-anged  ten  sets  of  stairs, .... 
the  highest  reaching  very  nearly  to  the  full  height  of  the  wall,  and 
the  secondary  flights  being  about  half  that  much;  each  step  is 
2  feet  wide;  and  the  lower  flights  project  within  the  circle  of  the 
higher.  They  lead  to  narrow  platforms,  from  8  to  43  feet  in 
length,  on  Avhich  its  wardens  or  defenders  stood."  (Catalogue  of 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  120.) 


APPENDIX.  607 

Page  57. 

On  this  subject  I  append  three  letters,  one  from  Dr.  Percy,  F.R.S., 
and  the  other  two  from  Messrs.  Jenkin  and  Lefeaux,  the  highly 
experienced  assayers  to  Messrs.  P.  Grenfell  and  Sons  : — 

November  11,  1868. 

Mr  DEAn  Sir  John  Lubbock, 

I  have  paid  considerable  attention  to  the  subject  of  ancient 
bronze,  and  all  the  inforruatiou  I  have  gathered  respecting  it  is 
directly  opposed  to  Mr.  Wibel's  view.  The  remarkable  uniformity 
in  the  composition  of  ancient  bronze  is  in  itself  sufficient  to  refute 
that  view.  When  I  speak  of  uniformity,  I  should  add  that  there 
is  some  variation  in  the  composition  according  to  the  uses  for  which 
bronze  implements  were  intended.  Thus,  where  greater  hardness 
was  needed  more  tin  was  added.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  that 
any  thing  approximating  to  uniformity  in  the  composition  of  ancient 
bronze  could  have  been  produced  from  the  smelting  of  accidental 
mixtures  of  copper  and  tin  ore.  Moreover,  in  remains  of  ancient 
bronze  foundries,  blocks  of  copper  have  been  found  which  were, 
doubtless,  used  in  making  the  alloy  by  the  direct  fusion  of  the  two 
metals  together.  I  could  enter  at  greater  length  into  the  subject 
if  necessary.  Mr.  W.'s  views  have,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  ex- 
tends, nothing  to  stand  upon.  Yours  very  faithfully. 

Sir  John  Luhbock,  Bart,  F.R.S.  JOHN  PERCY. 

London,  23rd  December. 

Dear  Sir, 

In  answer  to  Sir  John  Lubbock's  inquir}%  I  beg  to  say 
that  I  do  not  think  bronze  can  ever  have  been  produced  for  com- 
mercial purposes  by  fusing  a  mixture  of  copper  oi-e  and  tin  ore. 
I  have  not  much  doubt  that  this  could  be  accomplished  in  the 
laboratory,  but  not,  I  think,  in  the  uatial  mode  of  smelting  on  a 
large  scale.  Ores  containing  naturally  both  copper  and  tin  ai'e 
extremely  unusual.  Yours  truly, 

C.  8.  Grenfell,  Esq.  JOHN   LefeAUX. 

Redruth,  Uth  Month,  14,  1868. 

Respected  Friend, 

I  have  received  thy  favour  of  the  12th  inst.,  and  in  reply 
I  beg  to  inform  thee  that  I  do  not  think  there  are  any  Cornish 
ores  which  can  be  so  smelted  as  to  produce  a  mixed  metal  consist- 


G08  APPENDIX. 

ing  only  of  copper  and  tin,  and  in  such  proportions  as  to  form 
bronze  ;  and  for  this  reason,  that,  although  the  ores  may  contain  a 
sufficient  proportion  of  tin,  yet,  as  they  also  contain  other  metallic 
ingredients,  it  would,  I  think,  be  impossible  to  get  rid  of  all  such 
ingredients  without  at  the  same  time  getting  rid  of  the  tin  also. 
I  have,  however,  directed  our  assayer  to  make  some  experiments 
with  reference  to  this  subject. 

I  am,  respectfully,  thy  friend, 

C.  Seymour  Grenfell,  ALFRED   JeNKIN. 

Copper  Office, 
27,  Upper  Thames  Street,  London,  E.C. 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  Mr.  Jenkin  states  that  the  experiments 
made  by  the  assayer  confirmed  him  in  the  opinion  above  expressed. 

Page  61. 

The  passage  from  Avienus  is  as  folloAvs  : — 

Qnas  Himilco  Pcenus  mensibus  vix  quatuor, 

Ut  ipse  semet  re  probasse  retulit 
Enavigantem,  posse  transmitti  adserit  : 
Sic  nulla  late  flabra  propellunt  ratem,    . 
Sic  segnis  humor  JEquoris  pigri  stupet. 
Adjicit  et  illud,  plurimum  inter  gurgites 
Extare  fucum,  et  saepe  virgulti  vice 
Retinere  puppim  dicit  hie  nihilominus 
Non  in  profundum  terga  demitti  maris, 
Parvoque  aquarum  vix  supertexti  solum  : 
Obire  semper  hue  et  hue  ponti  feras, 
Kavigia  lenta  et  languide  repentia 
Internatare  belluas. 


Page  69, 

Rougemont,  in  the  L'Age  du  Bronze,  concludes  that,  though 
tin  was  in  ancient  times  obtained  from  Spain,  the  quantity  was 
always  inconsiderable.  Don  G.  Schulz,  the  Director  of  the  Spanish 
School  of  Mines,  has,  on  the  contrary,  in  his  Descripcion 
Geognostica  de  Gallicia,  expressed  the  opposite  opinion.  It  is 
much  to  be  wished  that  we  had  more  information  with  reference 
to  this  interesting  question. 


APPENDIX.  609 


Page  356. 

There  are,  indeed,  one  or  two  cases  on  record  in  which  polished 
axes  are  asserted  to  have  been  found  in  gravcl-bcds.  They  rest, 
however,  on  the  authority  of  uneducated  labourers,  whose  atten- 
tion would  not  be  at  the  time  directed  to  this  point,  and  who  would 
not  apprcrfatc  its  importance.  Without  then  imputing  to  them 
any  want  of  lionesty,  Ave  may,  I  tiiink,  safely  conclude  either  that 
these  exceptional  specimens  were  derived  from  interments,  or  that 
they  had  fallen  in  from  the  surface.  In  one  or  other  of  these  ways 
I  should  account  for  the  following  case: — "In  June,  1867,  a 
labourer  named  Mercer,  in  the  employment  of  the  Messrs.  Slater, 
of  the  Malton  Nurseries,  was  digging  gravel  from  the  beds  in 
question.  At  a  depth  of  9  feet,  and  below  a  band  of  undisturbed 
clay,  he  noticed  a  "  dark-coloured  stone  "  in  the  gravel.  This  was 
so  firmly  em])cddcd  (the  gravel,  though  seemingly  loose,  is  very 
firmly  set),  that  he  could  not  get  it  out  without  using  the  pickaxe. 
The  shape  and  colour  of  the  stone  induced  him  to  take  care  of  it, 
but  he  washed  off  most  of  its  incrustation  of  lime  in  a  pool  of  water 
in  a  cart-rut.  Much  of  the  incrustation,  however,  still  adheres 
(1869).  After  carrying  the  axe  in  his  pocket  for  some  days,  he, 
at  the  end  of  the  week,  gave  it  to  his  masters  for  "  a  lockery  orna- 
ment." Mr.  M.  B.  Slater  at  once  recognized  it  as  being  a  small 
stone  axe,  and  after  showing  it  to  several  friends,  eventually  gave 
it  to  Mr.  W.  C.  Copperthwaite,  the  Lodge,  Malton,  Earl  Fitz- 
william's  agent,  in  whose  possession  it  now  is  (January,  1869)." 
Mr.  Monkman  himself,  from  whose  paper  I  quote  the  above  ex- 
tract, considered  that  the  axe  was  not  really  contemporaneous  with 
the  beds  in  which  it  was  found*. 


Page  581. 

Perhaps  the  lowest  form  of  religion  may  be  considered  to  be  that 
presented  by  the  Australians,  Avhich  consists  of  a  mere  unreasoning 
belief  in  the  existence  of  mysterious  beings.  The  native  who  has 
a  nightmare,  or  a  dream,  does  not  doubt  the  reality  of  that  which 
passes,  and  as  the  beings  by  whom  he  is  visited  in  his  sleep  aro 
unseen  by  his  friends  and  relations,  he  regards  them  as  invisible. 

•  Monkman.    Yorkshire  Archoool.  and  Topogr.  Journal.    Jan.  1869. 
41  ^    . 


610  APPENDIX. 

In  Fetichism  this  feeling  is  more  methodized.  The  Negro  en- 
deavours to  make  a  slave  of  his  deity.  Thus  Fetichism  is  almost 
the  opposite  of  Religion;  it  stands  towards  it  in  the  same  relation 
as  Alchemy  to  Chemistry,  or  Astrology  to  Astronomy. 

A  further  stage  is  that  in  which  the  superibrity  of  the  higher 
deities  is  more  fully  recognized.  Every  thing  is  worshipped  in- 
discriminately— animals,  plants,  and  even  inanimate  clijects.  In 
endeavouring  to  account  for  the  Avorship  of  animals,  we  must 
remember  that  names  are  very  frequently  taken  from  them.  The  • 
children  and  followers  of  a  man  called  the  Bear  or  the  Lion  would 
make  that  a  tribal  name.  Hence  the  animal  itself  Avould  be  first 
respected,  at  la*  worshipped.- 

*'  The  Totem,"  says  Schoolcraft,  "is  a  symbol  of  the  name  of  the 
progenitor, — generally  some  quadruped,  or  bird,  or  other  object  in 
the  animal  kingdom,  which  stands,  if  we  may  so  expi-ess  it,  as  the 
surname  of  the  family.  Its  significant  importance  is  derived  from 
the  fact  that  individuals  unhesitatingly  trace  their  lineage  from  it." 
Totemism,  however,  is  by  no  means  confined  to  America,  but 
occurs  also  in  India,  Africa,  and  in  fact  almost  every  where*,  often 
in  connexion  Avith  marriage  prohibitions. 

Mr.  Fergusson  has  recently  attempted  to  show  the  special  pre- 
valence of  Tree  and  Serpent  worship.  He  might,  I  believe,  have 
made  out  as  strong  a  case  for  many  other  objects.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  the  savage  accounts  for  all  action  and 
movement  by  life ;  inanimate  objects,  therefore,  have  spirits 
as  "well  as  men;  hence  when  the  wives  and  slaves  are  slain,  the 
weapons  also  are  broken  in  the  grave,  so  that  the  spirits  of  the 
latter,  as  well  as  of  the  former,  may  accompany  their  master  to  the 
other  world. 

The  gradually  increasing  power  of  chiefs  and  priests  led  to 
Anthropomorphism  and  idolatry,  which  must  by  no  means  be 
regarded  as  the  lowest  stage  of  religion.  Solomonf,  indeed,  long 
ago  pointed  out  its  connexion  with  Monarchical  power. 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  each  stage  of  religion  is  super- 
imposed on  the  preceding,  and  that  bygone  beliefs  linger  on  among 
the  children  and  the  ignorant.  Thus  witchcraft  is  still  believed  in 
by  the  ignorant,  and  fairy  tales  flourish  in  the  nursery. 

*  Trans.  Ethnol.  Soc.  N.S.  vol.  vi.  p.  36.    Lafitau,  McEurs  des  Sauv.  Amer. 
vol.  i.  p.  464. 
t  Wisd.  xiv.  17. 


APPENDIX.  611 


Page  600. 


Degree  of  instruction  of  persons  committed  to  the  different  County, 
Borough,  and  Liberty  Prisons* in  England  and  Wales. 

Judicial  Statistics — 1870. 

Males.  Females. 

Neither  read  nor  write    ....  37,254  16,011 ) 

Read  or  write  and  read  imperfectly  74,240  24,242) 

Read  and  write  well 4,286            661  \ 

Superior  instruction 233              18j           ^'^^^ 


151,747 


116,013        40,932        156,945 
Instruction  not  ascertained  .     .     .         227  51  278 


Total   ....  116,240        40,983        157,223 


INDEX. 


Aarhuus,  coast-find  at,  106. 
Abbeville,  primitive  remains  at,  175, 

342,  etc. 
Abbot's  Langley,  flint  from,  317. 
Abipoiics  have  uo  name  for  God,  579. 
Absalom,   stone  heap  raided  over  him, 

116. 
Abiiry,  ancient  monument  at,  113, 119, 

124. 
Abyssinian  notions  of  missionary  power, 

425. 
Acerotherinm,  421. 

Achan,  stone  heap  raised  over  him,  115. 
Acht'ul,  St.,  antiquities  at,  364. 
Adams  County  animal  mound,  277. 
„      Dr.,  on  Hagiar  Kem,  72. 
„      Mr.,  on  manimotli,  294. 
Adhemar,  M.,  on  climate,  311,  404. 
„  on  changes  of  sea  level, 

414. 
Adze  of  Xew  Zealandors,  97,  99. 
A('])pli,  M.,  his  observations,  173. 
African  axe,  27,  28,  92. 
„       dolmens,  111,  131. 
„       ornaments,  42,  44. 
Agassiz,  opinion  of,  287. 
Ago  of  barrows,  difficulty  of  deciding, 

151. 
Agriculture,  early  American,  282. 

„  of  American  Indians,  526. 

„  Fccgeeans,  455. 

„  of  Lakemen,  212. 

Ai,  king  of,  buried  under  stone  heap, 

116.  • 
Albano,  hut-urns  found  near,  51. 
All)crtus  ^laLrnus  refers  to  the  elk,  207. 
Aldus  McCJaldus,  94. 
Algeria,  tumuli  and  stone  circles  in,  127. 
„       stone  im])loment*!found  in, 108. 
Algonquius  had  no  wimifor  love,  520. 


Alphabets,  peculiarities  of,  562. 
„  alkged  American,  279. 

„  Runic,  604. 

,,  Ogham,  605. 

Altar  Mounds,  American,  how  formed, 

269. 
Alyattcs,  tomb  of,  116. 
Amazon  Indians,  funeral  rites  of,  133. 
Amber  found  at  Hall>tadt,  24. 
„      found  at  Mcilci),  191. 
„      found  at  Moeu,  159,  160,  161. 
,,      found  in  the  Trccnhoic,  49. 
„      its  source  and  value,  71. 
America,  supposed    traces  of  Phoeni- 
cians in,  71. 
American  agriculture,  periods  of,  285. 

„         antiquities  classified,  252. 
American  (North)  Archaeology,   250, 
286. 
„        Bibliography  of,  250. 
,,         Indian  funeral  rites,  130. 

Indians,  329,  515,  etc. 
„        stone  implements,  107,  348. 
„         Indians,  their  use  of  topper, 

4. 
„        pottery,  257. 
„        tribes,  religious  ideas  of,  577. 
Amiens,  primitive  remains  at,  313. 
Amravati,  stone  circles  tliere,  126. 
Andaman    Islanders,  notices    oi',  429, 

436. 
Anderson,  Mr.,  305. 
Anderson's  Sumatra,  188,  note. 
Angas,  G.  F.,  quoted,  415. 
Anglesea,  hut  circles  in,  53. 
Anglo-Saxon  interments,  156,  157. 
Anholt,  coast-tiud  at,  105. 
Animal  mounds  of  Wisconsin  ;    gigan- 
tic representations   of  various    ani- 
mals, 274. 


614 


INDEX, 


Animal  remains  at  Lake  villifges,  194- 
210. 
in  drift,  367,  36S,  377.  • 
„  „         in  tumuli,  169. 

Animals,   consumption  of,    in  savage 
nation^,  3oS. 
„        of  oldest  Enslund.  303. 
„        of  primsval  France,  309. 
„        domestic,  of  lakeinen,  201. 

wild  and  do.nestic,  202, 203. 
„  „    sacrificed,  170. 

„         ingenuity  of,  584. 
„         wild,  th'jir  p?rils,  595. 
Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  177. 
Anson,  on  buildings  of  Ladrona    Is- 

Linders,   5  49. 
Antiquity  of  Americui  remains,  2S3. 

„        of  Man,  3S5,  etc. 
Apples  found  in  Lake-dwelling-,  212. 
Arabia,  stone  mo'ui:nent>  in,  113. 
Arab  phrases  and  Old  Testament  style, 
425. 
„    race,  early  trnces  of,*587. 
Arbor  Low,  pottery  from,  166. 
„         „      stone  circle  at,  113. 
„         „      tumulus  at,  150. 
Arcelin,  M.  A.,  his  researches,  33,  107. 
Arcbiac,  M.  d',  quoted  on  Oise  Valley, 
367,  363. 
„       on  quaternary  climate,  310. 
ArcliaeolithiL-,  or  Paleolit!:ic  Period,  2, 

75,  414. 
Arcliffiological  evidence,  its  nature,  12, 

427. 
Archaeology,  pre  liistorie,  its  four  ages 
-the    Drift,     or    Palae;)Htbic,    the 
Newer    Stone,     or    Neolithic,    the 
Bronze,  aud  the  Iron,  2,  3. 
Arcliaeology  and  savage  tribes,  428. 
Arehitecture  of  Bronze  Age,  50. 
Ardoch,    bro)ize    sword    said   to    have 

been  found  there,  18. 
Aristotle,  63. 

Arri'oy,  a  society  in  Taliiti,  487. 
Arrow-heads,  American,  252,  253. 

„  of  five  kinds — triangular, 

indented,  stemmed, l)nrb- 

ed,  and  leiif- shaped,  102. 

„  similarity  of,  in  ditlereat 

countries,  102. 

Arrows,  bronze,  31. 

„        Esquimaux,  10,  11. 
„        marks  on,  8,  note,  10,  11. 
Arrow-makers  among  Snake  Indians, 

523. 
Art,  American  Indian,  528. 
Ai-ticles    buried    with   the    dead,    not 
always  for  actual  use,  139-151, 153. 


Arts  and  obj  cts   peculiar  to  certain 

races,  554. 
Ascbersleben,  hut-uru  found  near,  52. 
Ass,  321. 
„    remains  of,  recent  in  Lake-dwell- 
ings, 199. 
Assyria,  stone  implements  found   in, 

lbs,  3 18. 
Athinti-:,  probable  origin  of  the  belief 

in,  63. 
Atwater,  Mr.,  his  researches,  250,  268. 
„  on  Giave-creek  mound, 

268. 
Aubrey  quoted,  119. 
Audierne,  M.,  323,  note. 
Aurelius  Ambrosius,  121. 
Au;'iguac,  bone  cave  at,  319. 
Aurilhic,  relics  from,  422. 
Aurochs,  200,  209,  234,  289,  305,  321, 

377. 
Australia,  stone  circles  in,  114. 
Australian  flint  flake,  89,  107. 
Austiaiians,  notices  of,  429,  438. 
Auvernicr,  relies  from,  43. 
Ava,  what,  481. 
Avienus  noticed,  61-63,  608. 
Awls  of  flint,  99. 

„    of  bone,  104;  of  bronze,  167. 
A.xes,  American,  in  stone,  252. 

„     stone,  91,  95,  008. 

,,'     Swiss,  in  stone,  189. 

„     of  ceremony,  472. 
Aymard,  M.,  on  sacred  lakes,  217. 
Azar.i  on  Indians  of  Paraguay,  530. 
Aztalan  in  Wisconsin,remaius  at,  2C4. 
Aztecs,  89. 


B. 


Baal,  symbols  of,  71 

„     worship  in  Norway,  71. 

„  „       evidence  of,  72. 

Bachapins,  428,  482. 
Badger,  207,  320. 

Baegerton  Californian  Indians,  576. 
Baer,  Von,  on  the  Aurochs,  306. 
Bailey  on  Veddabs,  435 
Baillon,  ^I.,  on  rhinoceros  remains  at 

Menchecourt,  361. 
Baines,  Mr.,  his  sketch  of  Australians 

making  flint  flakes,  88. 
Baker  on  Arab  ])hraseology,  '425. 
Bakie's  voyaire  referred  to,  360. 
Balder.sbnf,  72. 
Bark  cloth,  473. 

Barley  found  in  Lnke-villiges,  211. 
B:irrow.     See  Mound,  Tumulus. 
Bate,  Mr.  Spemje,  researches  of,  230. 


INDEX. 


G15 


Batcnian,  Mr.,  liis  labours,  217. 

„         statistics  from,  77, 140-1-15, 

153,  151,  170. 
M         liis  classilicatiou  of  pottery, 

165. 
„         opinion  of  "  drinking  cups," 

167. 
„         on  interments,  50,135,171. 
Baylcy  on  Kandynn  opinion,  568. 
Bates  on  tiil)es  of  upper  Ania/ons,  576. 
Beaches,  raised,  examples  of,  382. 
Beads,  49, 15'J-161,  163,  164.. 
Bear,  207,  20L). 

„     the  Cave,  289, 293, 317,  320, 377. 
Beaumont,  JI.  Jilio  de,  341'. 
Beaver,  207. 
Beccles,  Mr.,  236. 
Bcelvhampton,  119.     * 
Bcckwitli,  Lieut.,  on  manufacture  of 

stone  weapons  iiy  Indians,  91. 
Bedford,  relics  from,  348. 
BcecLey,  on  Esquimaux  skill  with  the 
arrow,  515. 
referred  to,  294,  509. 
Beech-trees  in  Denmark,  2)8,  389. 
Beehive  houses  of  Scotland.  54. 
Belcher  on  manufacture  of  s'.onc  im- 
plements hy  the  Esquimaux, 
91. 
„       on  I'^squiniaux    winter    store, 

495. 
„       on  Andanianers,  436. 
Belgium,  bone-caves  in,  313. 
Beneden,  M.  Van,  315. 
Benjamitc  sling<rs,  546. 
Bcrtraud,  M.,  leferred  to,  119. 

„         on  human  remains  utClichy, 
360. 
Beyer,  Dr.,  discovers  a  hut-urn,  51. 
Bible  references  to  flax,  214. 
„  „         to  the  ass,  199. 

„  „         to  the  horse,  199. 

„  „         to  corn,  etc.,  214. 

„     testimony  to  early  use  of  bronze, 

68. 
„     for  "  brass  "  in  our  version,  we 
should  read  "  bronze,"  69. 
Bicnnc,  sMiinial  remains,  197. 
Bilidt,  sliell-monnd  at,  226,  tJ30. 
Birch,  Mr.,  an  opinion  of  his,  166. 
Birds  caught  by  dogs,  507. 

„  ,.       in  various  ways,  557. 

„     in  sliell-mouiids,  233,  235. 

„     of  Swiss  Liikedwellings,  198. 

Bison  or  aui>)elis,  305.     See  Aurochs. 

Biackmorc,    Dr.,    finds   the   lemming 

near  Salis'nury.  307.  I 

Blackwood's  Maj^azine  n  fcTrcd  to,  352.    j 


Blandford,  Mr.,  his  opinion  of  Silburj 

Hill,  121,  note. 
Bleek,  Dr.,  on  Bushmen,  434. 
Blumenbach  and  fossil  rhinoceros,  297. 
Boar,  the,  200,  234.  320. 
Boat,  ancient,  8,  19,  181. 
Boats  of  Efquimaux,  etc.,  506,  523. 
B(  hemia,  forts  in,  112. 
Boiling-stones,  479. 
Bolas,  534. 

Bone  implements  in  Copenhagen  Mu- 
Eucm,  76. 
„     caves,  evidence  from,  78,  312. 
„         „      in   Fiance  and  Belgium, 

313. 
„         „       in  I)e\on,  315. 
„  „       in  Sieilv,  318. 

in  (iih'aitar,  319. 
„         „       in  S|  ain,  ibid. 
„         „       ill  ]  lame,  320,  etc. 

„       near  Wells,  323. 
„         „       in  Italv,  2^:0. 
„     inipkmeuts,  104,  163,  239. 
»  „  sui  diy  kinds  of,  104. 

„  „         of  Aii;(ri(  a  like  those 

cf  ether  countries, 
252. 
„  „         fi  em  caves,  332. 

„     pits  in  North  j\meii(a,  268. 
Bones  consumed  by  Afiiean  tribes  and 
other  reo)  les,  327. 
„      from  drilit.  358. 
„      fossil,  236. 

„      pounded  by  Anstial"an<:,  439. 
„  „  Erquin  aux,  496. 

„      of  animals  in  tumuli,  169. 
„      of  wild  and   dcmettic  animals 

difl'cr,  2(l2. 
„       found  in  slicU-mounds,  etc.,  232, 

283,  284. 
„      around  Esquimaux  huts.  404. 
Bonstctten,  JI.,  refined  to,  113. 
Boomerang,  442,  444. 
Borlasc  referred  to,  6. 
I'ornou,  funerals  in,  134. 
Boireby  tumulus,  139. 
J3os  primigenhis.     See  Urus. 
lioscawen,  stone  circles  at,  113. 
Boucher  de  Pertbes,  M.,  his  labours, 
206,  342,  itc. 
»  a  f-ugge^tion  of,  345. 

..  on     lake    babitations    in 

Sonime  Vailey,  378. 
„  on    remains     in    Soinme 

Valley,  175. 
„  on  cataelxsms,  372. 

„  on  Palaolithic  stone  axe, 

342. 


616 


INDEX. 


Bourgeois,  Abbe,  discoveries  of,  421. 

Bourguijrnet,  M.,  340. 

Bonrneville  iu  Oliio,  fortification  at, 

259. 
Bowl  of  wood  from  Jutland,  49. 
Bows,  Indian,  523,  524. 
Boyd-Dawkinson  descent  of  oxen,  205. 
„  account     of      Wokey 

Hole.  323,  331. 
„  on  c:ivc-bear  iu  river 

drilt,  292. 
„  on  cave-lion,  293. 

„  on    fossil    rhinoceros, 

297. 
Boye,  on  a  Danish  tumulus,  157. 
Bracelet  of  bronze,  49. 
Brandon,  flint  implements  at,  81. 
Brandt  on  cave-bear,  292. 
„       on  bison,  306. 
„       fossil  rhinoceros   in   Scandi- 
navia, 298. 
„       on  wild  horse,  301,  note. 
„       on  reindeer,  303. 
Brantome,  rock  chapel  at,  325. 
Brass    in    English    Bible    should    be 

bronze,  68. 
Bread  for.nd  in  Lake-villages,  211. 
Brennus,  his  soldiers  had  iron  swords,  6. 
Briant,  M.,  82. 
Bridlington,  flint  finds,  107. 
Brighton,  SGI. 
British  coinage,  how  early,  7. 

„      Museum,  New  Zealand  adze  in, 

98. 
„      tumuli,  their  general  plan,  135. 
„      Association,  its  exploration  of 

Kent's  cavern,  316. 
„      Museum    contains  stone  wea- 
pon   found    with   elephant's 
tooth,  345. 
Brittany  tunnili,  118,  125,  163. 
Britons  did  not  eat  hare,  197. 
Brixham  cave,  remains  from,  291, 317. 
Broch.    See  Burirh. 
Bronze  Age,  3,  74,  170,  249. 
„         „     dwellings  of,  52. 
„  .       „     theories  concei-ning,  57. 
„         „     and  Phoenician  commerce, 
60. 
„     metallurgy  of,  37-41,  57. 
„         „     burial  in,  151. 
„         „     clothing  in,   45;  pottery 

of,  217-219. 
„         „       architecture,  50. 
„     and   stone   used   at   the    same 

time,  77. 
„     articles,      their      general     re- 
semblances, 59. 


Bronze    articles,   their    differences   of 
detail,  60. 
„  „         cast       in       various 

countries,  60. 
„  ,,         inventory  of,  43. 

„     celt  at  Rome  with   inscription 

not  dcciiiherable,  44. 
„         „     found  iu  Kent,  38. 
„     diflerent  composition  of,  20. 
„     in  Central  America,  253,  429. 
„     opinions  upon  its  original  manu- 

factui'e,  607. 
„     bracelets,  34,  49,  218. 
„     brooches,  35,  49,  50. 
„     arrows,  31. 
„     daggers,  32,  40. 
,,    javelins,  31. 
„     sickles,  S2. 
„     knives,  33,  49. 
„     celts,  25-29. 
„     swords,  29-31,  48,  49,  53. 
„     spears,  31. 
„     fish-hooks,  32. 
„     hammers,  37. 
„     pins,  34,  157. 

,,     ornaments,  33.  ^ 

„     tweezers,  49. 
„     weapons,     their     geographical 

distribution,  20. 
„     found  in  Denmark  and  Ireland, 

20,  21. 
„         „     Norwav,  71. 

„     Italy,  20. 
„     celts  not  found  at  Pompei,  20. 
„         „  „       with  Eoman  re- 

mains, 21. 
„         „     not  of  Roman  times,  17, 

21. 
„         „     but  earlier,   before   iron, 

22. 
„     how  introduced,  4,  60,  69. 
„     probably     not     discovered    in 

Europe,  59. 
,,     moulds  for  casting,  60. 
„     and    stone    implements    found 

together,  77. 
„     pin   from  Scotch   shell-mound, 

229. 
,,     prolxiblv    imported    from    the 

East,"60. 
„     remains  at  pileworks,  216. 
„     weapons,  when  discontinued  in 

the  North,  12. 
„  „     not  found  with  relics  of 

Roman    origin,     12, 
17,  21. 
„  „     not   found    with    u'on, 

7-12. 


INDEX. 


617 


Bronze,  alleged  examples  of,  discussed, 

18. 
IJrooeli,  anciently  mended,  40. 
Urooclies  of  bronze,  35,  43. 
Brooke  referred  to,  132. 
Brougliani,  Lord,  quoted,  601. 
Brown,  Mr.,  on  New  Zealand  inherit- 
ance, 501. 
„      liis  discoveries,  £87. 
Bucli,    L.   von,  on   nii<lsummer  night 

fires  of  Norwiiv,  72. 
Buckland,  Dr.,  remark  of,  300. 
Buddha's  wife  and  niotlicr,  564. 
Buflbn  on  Beiudeer  in  France,  303. 
Bunhui-y,    Sir   C,    on    remains   near 

Thctford,  174. 
Bunsen  on  antiquity  of  man,  386. 
Buraets,  custom  of,  271. 
Burchell    on    custom    of   Bacbapins, 
428,  482,  note. 
„         on  Bushman  tribe,  573. 
Bureklinrdt,  544. 
Burdctt  Coutts,  Baroness,  317. 
Burglis,  dwellings  so  called,  55,  305. 
Burial,  ancient  modes  of,  130,  et  seq. 
„  „         „  during  the  Bronze 

Age,  49,  50. 
„  „         ,,  in  America,  268. 

,,     forms  of,  amonsr  saviisfcs,  457, 
465,  483,  51 C  528,  560. 
Burnes,  Travels  quoted,  175. 
Burnet  on  C'omanclics,  519. 
Burning  of  Lakc-vilhiges,  220. 
Burton    on     Arab    prejudice  against 
imrc,  l'J8. 
„         ,,     African  oi)inion,  565. 
Bushmen  noticed,  431,  573". 
Busk,  Dr.,  visits  Denmark,  226. 
„  referred  to,  139,  343. 

„  ou  cave-bear,  291,  293. 

„  on  Ncandcrtlial  skull,  338. 

„  visit  to  Sounne  Valley,  316. 

„  on  Ilyana,  319. 

„  his  lliiitfiiids  at  the  Cape  of 

Good  Hope,  107. 
Buttons  or  studs  of  bron/e,  37,  49. 

„      of  tin,  49. 
Byron  on  Fnegians,  537,  542. 
their  dogs,  539. 
„        anecdotu  of  Indian  cruelty, 
571. 

C. 

C.-c^ar  referred  to,  207,  306,  307. 
Cailiie,  M  ,  578. 
Caithness  "  burijhs,"  55. 
Caledonian  swords  of  ^ron,  7. 


Caledonian  wall,  123. 
Cahokia,  gigautic  mound  at,  273,  281. 
Calvert,  Mr.,  458,  461. 
Campagna,  bronze  celt  found  in  the,  44. 
Candolle,  M.  de,  cited,  211. 
Caneto,  M.  de,  86. 
Cannibalism  of  Feegeeans,  459. 
„         „      Fuegians,  541. 
,,         „      Maories,  467. 
iu  Tahiti,  429. 
Canoe  Indians,  532. 
Canoes,  429,  440,  453,  4-65,  476,  523, 

532,  5 12. 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  flint  flake,  89. 

„  „         flint-tlnds  at,  107, 

108. 
Carnac,  temple  of,  124. 

„       tumulus  at,  163. 
Carthage,  when  built,  68. 

„         voyage     from,    to    North- 
western Europe,  61. 
Carpenter,  Dr.,  398. 
Carvings  on  bones,  333,  509. 

„       on  stones,  118,  278,  439,  440. 
Cat  not  found  jn  Lakedwellings,  199; 
nor  in  Danish  shell-mounds,  199. 
„  wild,  207,  320. 

,,  wlien  brought  into  Europe,  234. 
Cataclysms    would    not    account    for 

river  drift,  372,  etc. 
Catlin,  anecdote  of,  529. 

„      on  defence  of  JMandan  Village, 

261. 
„      remark- of,  191,  529. 
Cave-men,  312-311. 
„       „      their  remains,  337. 
„     bear,  289-293. 
„     hva?na,  289,  293. 
„     li'on,  289,  293. 
Celtic  Lake-dwellers,  suppo.sed,  219. 
Celts,  25,  189. 

„     of  various  forms  and  materials 

figured,  25-29. 
„     Iduds  of  stone  used  for,  78. 
•    „     fel-tone.  78. 
>,     basalt,  79. 
„     jade.  79,  163. 
„    "flint,  80. 
Cevlon,  6L 
Chaillu,  M.  du,  567. 
Chambered     tumuli,     131^;     rare     in 

England  and  France,  135. 
Chamois,  326. 

CluuHrcs  of  human  type,  588. 
Charlemagne,  a  rcRulation  of,  164. 
Charlevoix    on   etymology   of  Esqui- 
maux, 495. 
Cliavaunes,  remains  of  ass  at,  199. 


618 


INDEX. 


Cheney  on  ancient   monuments,  2S2, 

note. 
Chert,    how   fashioned  by  the  Esqui- 
maux, 91. 
Childl)iitli,  cnriou"?  customs  at,  561. 
Children  and  sava.j.'S  compared,  570. 
Chilliiigliam  wild  cattle,  307. 
Ciiimpanzee,  dwellinj^.-i  of,  5S5. 
China,  its  pre-iiistarie  avchsEology  not 
yet  known,  3. 
„     burial  cujtoin,  151. 
Chisels  of  Hint,  9S,  159, 160. 
Chonos  Indians,  539. 
Christol,  jM.  de,  ou    rhinoceros  relic, 
297. 
referred  to,  313. 
Christ}',  Mr.,  on    iinciant   climate   of 
south  of  France,  336,  343. 
„     his  collection,  507. 
„     &  Lartct,  MM.,  tlieir  researches 
in    the    Dordogue, 
323,  etc. 
„  „        on.  condition  of  cave- 

men     of      South 
France,  550. 
Chronological  data,  281. 

problems,    221,  243,  248, 
383,  etc. 
Chronology  of  tiie  Tiniere  cone,  390. 
„      Tiiiele  valley,  393. 
Chunk -yards  described,  266. 
Cicero,  217. 

Circlevilh,  Ohio,  remains  at,  263. 
Circumcision  in  Austra'ia,  417. 
Civilization  gradual  iu  Lake-villages, 

220. 
Civilization,  its  advantages,  594. 

„  in  its  inf  nicy,  551,  584. 

Clarence,  hone-i)it  at,  26  J. 
Clark's   work,  Oliio,   fortification  at, 

260. 
Clemens,  Dr.  0.  W..  279. 
Clichj-,  human  remains  at,  360. 
Climate  and  a:-tr.)n()mical  changes,  405. 
„       „     geograpliical  features,  403» 
„       of  quaternary  period,  various 

opinions  entertained,  310. 
„       of  reindeer  jieriod,  336. 
,,       of  Western  Europe,  dates  in- 
dicated by,  401,  419. 
"  Cloglinuns,"  78. 

Cloth  Ibund  iu  Lake-dwellings,  194. 
„      found  at  Azt  dan,  266. 
„      manufacture  in  Tahiti,  473. 
Clothing,  ideas  concerning,  561. 

„        of  Bronze  Age.  46. 
Coast-finds  in  Denmark  described,  105. 
Cochet,  the  Abbe,  quoted,  313. 


Codex  Diplomaticus,  117- 
Codringt^n,  Mr.,  finds  flint  implement 

on  Foreland  Clifi',  351. 
Coffins  of  wood  found  in  Jutland,  46. 
„      their  contents,  46-49. 
„      at  St.  Acbeul,  376. 
,,      not  used  in  Stone  Age,  130. 
„      of  Stone,  94. 

„      given  by  tlie  Chinese  as  pre- 
sents, 562. 
Coin  found  at  \'imose,  11. 
Coins  absent  from  bronze-finds,  11, 16. 
„     found  m  Ifoman  towus,  17. 
„     miscellaneous,  221. 
„     found  at  Piiuigny,  19. 
„       Htillv,  18. 
„       Tiniere,  391. 
„     not  found  in  ages  of  stone  and 

bronze,  7.  « 

„     found  at  Nvdam,  8,  9. 

„  Tiiorsbjerg,  10. 

Tiefcnau,  7,  221. 
La  Teue,  7. 
Coinage,  early  Brltisli  and  Gaulish,  7. 
Colden  on  Canadian  Indians,  95,  519, 

577. 
Comb  from  Jutland,  46,  48. 
Concise,  relics  from,  92, 189,  197,  198. 

„        hog  found  at,  201. 
Confolens,  cromlech  at,  126. 
Co'>greve,  reference  to,  120,  note. 
Couwell,  his  discoveries  in  Meatb,  169. 
Cook,  Capt.,  on  Anstraliau  uottons  of 
trade,  415. 
„  „      on     Esquimaux     repast, 

496. 
„  ,j      on  Nootka  Sound  Indians, 

525.  ■ 
„  „       on  Fuegians,  542. 

„  „      on  houses  at  Botany  Bay, 

436. 
„  „      examples  of  Now  Zealand 

skill.  332,  548. 
„  „     Kamskatchadale  "yourt," 

492. 
„  „      ou  Tahitians,   428,  470, 

480,  &c. 
„  „      en  'J'asmanians,  450. 

„  „      on  Maories,  462. 

„  „      on  tempoiary  marriages 

in  New  Zealand,  568. 
„  „      on  winter-habitations  in 

North-ca^t.Asia,  132. 
„  „      worshipped,  567. 

Cookerv  among  Esquimaux,  495. 
Copeuliag&u  Museum,  223,  225-6. 

„  „       stone  implements 

in,  75,  85. 


INDEX. 


619 


Copculingcu  Mnscnin,  bronze    imjilc- 
iiieiitsiii,27,3l,32,  44. 
„  AcMiliiny  of  Scionccs,  22G. 

(Jnppcr  Afjc  ill  Irilaiul  (loul)tful,  58. 
Copper,  its  early  use,  3,  GO. 

„       wliere  jiroenrod  by  tbe  PhcE- 

iiieiaus,  61). 
„       inii)lemeiit5,   28;  rare  iu  Eu- 
rope, 57. 
„      in  North  America,  253,  429, 

521. 
„       mines,  American,  254. 
ro]ii)crsmitbs,  Aniiruan,  256. 
Cnriil  found  at  Concise,  I'Jl. 
Corceleltes,  13,  15,  43. 
Cork,  Mr.,  433. 
Corn  not  found  in  sbcU-momuls,  231. 

„    of  Lidv-e-mcn,  211,  231. 
Com-crnsbers,  lUO. 
Cornet,  M.  82. 
Corn-bills,  282. 

Cornwall,   a  tin  producinp:  district  iu 
cnrlv  times,  Gl,  69. 
sbell-inoniuls,  230. 
Cortaillod,  13,  15,  43. 
Crannoges  in  Iribind,  176! 
Crautz   on    Esquiniau.v   repast,    105, 
498. 
„         on  killing;  seals,  503. 
„         on   EGqnimaux    religious  no- 
tions, 511.  , 
„         on   tbe   bare  among  Green- 
.  landeis,  198. 
Crawfurd  on  Australian  IMiuerals,  448, 
574. 
„        on  changes  of  type,  588. 
„         on  Malay  lant^nage,  573. 
Cremation  in  tlie  IBronze  Aj^e,  50,  156. 
Crescents  of  eartbenwarc,  218. 
Crofts,  Pi'ofessor,  256. 
Croll,  Jlr,  on  trade-winds,  402. 
„      on  e.xccntricity  of  earth's  orMt, 

410. 
„     on  cbangc  of  sea-level,  414. 
„     on  cliange  of  climate,  311. 
Cromlech  at  Confolens,  126. 

„         sense  and  etymology  of  tbe 
word,  lt)9,  note. 
Cromlecbs,  113. 
Cronkstone  Hill,  150. 
Cruelty  of  Savages,  521,571. 
Crustacea  in  shell  mounds,  232.   • 
Cumberland  tumuli,  content-!  of,  149. 
Cunningham,     Mr.,     on     Australian 

sketches.  439. 
Customs  of  mound-builders  237,  240. 
„      and  habits  apparently  similar, 
but  yet  dill'ereut,  557. 


Cnst'^ms  of  Savages,  433. 
Cuvier,  M.,  names  Rhinoceros  lepto- 
rhlnus,  297. 
„      on  reindeer,  303. 


D. 


Dacotabs  boiling    animals    in    .skins, 

512. 
Daggers,  bronze,  32. 
„        of  tlint,  100. 
Dale,  Mr.,  his  tlint -finds  at  Cape  of 

(Jood  Hope,  107. 
Dale  County,  animal-mounds,  275. 
Dalton,  Col*.,  rn  Kols,  425. 
Danipiei',  reference  to,  176,  438,  442. 

slwll-monnds,  230. 
Damour,  M.,  79,  note. 
Dana,  Professor,  254. 
Dances,  indecent,  EC9. 
Danish  coast-finds  fb  scribed,  105. 
„      flint  ini)ilcm(.nts,  237. 
„      nnr  cums,  stone  implements  in, 

223,  225. 
„      Sagas  mention  tumuli,  117. 
„      tumuli,  S3,  2::3. 
D'Arebiac,  M.,  2*J8,  note.   See  Arcbiac. 
Dartmoor,  remains  on,  53. 
Darwin's  theory  referred  to,  308. 
Darwin,  Mr.,  on  descent  of  oxen,  205. 
„        remark  on  glaciers,  310. 
„         olser rations  of,  220, 241,  571. 
„        on  Fucgian  dress,  542. 
Dasent,  G.  W.,  38,  304. 
David,  Lucas,  refers  to  wild  horse,  301. 
Davis,  Dr.  B.,  on  Neaudertbal  skull, 

340. 
Davy  on  Veddabs,  435. 
pawkins  and  Sandibrd,   opinions  of, 

293. 
Dawkins  and  tbe  Machairodus  laii- 
devs,  307. 
„        on  wild  oxen.  205. 
„        on  reindeer,  ^03. 
Dead,  how  interred  in  tbe  Bronze  Age, 

49. 
Death,  indilTeienee  to,  562. 
Decency,  ideas  of,  56  I. 
Decker,  on  Fucgians,  536. 
Deei'horn  picks,  etc.,  81,  82. 
Deirradation  of  savage  tribes  denied, 

585.  ■ 
Dela  court,   M.,    discovery   at   Precy, 

345. 
Delann.ay,  M.,  422. 
Deidiain,  reference  to  African  custom, 
564. 


G20 


INDEX. 


penmark,  its  jilace  in  liistorv,  223. 
„  its  autiquities,  8,  9,  223. 

„  its  vegetation,  381). 

„  not  eutered   by    the   Ro- 

mans, 20. 
„  See   Kjokkenmotldings, 

sliell-mouuds,  etc. 
Derbyshire  tumuli,  contents  of,  142- 

145,  154. 
Dercennus,  mound  of,  116. 
Design  of  implements,  72. 
Desnoyers,  AI.,  on  bone-caves,  312. 

„  on  marks  upon  bones, 

420. 
Desor,  Prof.,  on  bronze  objects,  216. 
„      true    nature    of  lake -villages, 

216. 
„      on  human  remains  not  found  in 

the  Stone  Age,  215. 
„      on  Swiss  Lake-dwellings,  178, 
183,  221. 
Da  Soto,  424,  522. 
Devil's  Dyke,  113. 
Devon,  sliell-niounds,  230. 
Dickeson,  Dr.,  finds  together  bones  of 

mastodon  and  man,  287. 
Differences  among   contemporary  sa- 
vages, 551. 
Diffusion  of  the  human  race,  588. 
Dighton  Rock  carvings,  278. 
Dille,  Mr.,  on  American  tumuli,  268. 
Diuotherium,  422. 
Diodorus  Siculus  cited,  116,  562. 
Dobritzhoffer    on    religious    ideas    of 
Abi  pones,  579. 
„  skill  of  savages,  545. 

Dog,  fir-it  domestic  animal,  586. 
Dogs  of  shell-mounds,  235. 

„     trained  to  help  in  fishing,  539. 
„     used    for  ditl'ereut    purposes, 
505,  557. 
Dolmen,  sense  and  etymology  of  the 

word,  109,  note,  126,  128. 
Domestic    animals,    remains    of    not 
found   in    French 
bone-caves,  326.     , 
„  of  Lake-men,  203. 

„  none     in     earliest 

times,  589. 
„  of    early    ages,    9- 

17L 
Doorways  in  tumuli,  159. 
D'Orbigny,  quotation  from,  372. 
Dordogne,  bone-caves  in,  323,  548. 
Douler,   Dr.,  human  relics  found  by, 

287. 
Dove,  Mr.,  on  Tasmanians,  450,  573. 
Drawings  of  Esquimaux,  509. 


Dress  in  the  Bronze  Age,  45. 

„      of  savages,  4.'?1,  435,  437,  44/?, 
456,  4fi2,    516,    530,    533, 
536,  542. 
„      of  Tahitians,  474. 
„      of  Esquimau. >:,  507. 
„      of  the  Lake-men,  193. 
„      of  Patiigonians,  533. 
Drift  Age,  what,  2,  75,  342. 

„     beds  characteristics  of,  263,  etc. 
„       „      how  formed,  366. 
,,   scarcity  of  human  remains  in,  357. 
„  „     vegetable  remains  in,  366. 

„  ,,     animal  remains  in,  366. 

„     implements  considered,  352-357. 
Drilling,  savage  skill  in,  524. 
Drinking-cups,  167. 
Druidical  monuments,  so-called,  119. 
Dublin  Museum,    brouze    iuiplement, 
etc.,  in,  20,  27,  28,  31,  32,  33,  38, 
58,  76. 
Dun  of  Doruadilla,  55. 
Dupont,  Dr.,  on  Belgian  caves,  314. 
Duty,  curious  ideas  of,  564. 
Dwellings  of  American  Indians,  525. 
,,        'of  ancient  Gauls,  179. 

of  the  Lake-men,  173-180. 
„         of  Brouze  Age,  50. 
„         of  Esquunau.x,  491. 
„         in  Paraguay,  530. 
„         Patagouians,  533. 
„         Pucgians,  536. 
Dyaks,  dwelliugs  of,  176. 
Dykes,  113. 


E. 


Earle,  Mr.,  observation  of,  230. 

„        on  Kew  Zealand  cruelty,  AQl. , 
Earthenware  spindle-whorls,  190. 
Earth's  axis,  alteration  of,  401. 
Earthworks  in  Nortli  America,  25,  note. 
Easter  Island  statues,  549. 
Eccard  referred  to,  6. 
Education  and  crime,  609. 
Edinburgh,  bronze  implements  at,  27. 
Egypt,  early  civilization  of,  587. 

„      formatioh  of,  394. 
Egyptian  bronzes,  33. 

„       tombs,  151. 

„      knowledge  of  the  horse,  200. 

„       barley,  211. 
Ekkehard  quoted,  301. 
Elephant,  289,  296,  377. 
Elephants  use  boughs  as  fans,  584. 
Elfin  arrows,  427. 
Elk,  207. 
„     Irish  fossil,  289,  299,  321. 


INDEX. 


621 


Elk,  Norwny,  307. 

Ellis,  on  oi>iiiions  in  Tahiti,  470,  484. 
„     on  dri'ss  of  queen,  475. 
„     ou  Tahitiau  slingstones,  477. 
„  „  surijery,  482. 

„  „  morals,  488. 

„     ou  ^laoi'ies,  467. 
„     on  feats  of  Polynesians,  545. 
Ellon,  rtint-finds  near,  107. 
Enclosurrs  in  America,  259. 
En^elliardt,  on  discoveries  ia  Slesvick, 

8,  118. 
Engis,  skull  from,  337. 
England,  shell-mounds  in,  230. 
English  Channel  onee  narrower,  363. 
Engraving  hy  Es:]uiniaux,  509. 

„  by  cave-men,  333. 

Equinoxes,  precession  of,  405. 
Ernian  on  "  Yurt,"  131. 
„      reference  to,  271. 
Erskine,  Capt.,  on  Feegecan  gods,  453. 
„  on  Feegecan  character,  455, 

460. 
Esquimaux  funeral  rite,  171. 
„  burial  places,  150. 

„  sometimes  eat  foxes,  195. 

„  notions  of  Englishmen,  425. 

„  notices  of,  327, 329, 491,  etc. 

„  stone  mouumeuts  among, 

113. 
„  stone  implements,  91,  97, 

99. 
„  without  pottery,  494. 

„  without  religious  ideas, 511. 

„  engravings  on  bone,  509. 

Estavayer,  12  15,  33^  31,  43,  45. 
Ethnological  problems,  387. 
Etiquette,  Feegecan,  4 (50. 

Savage,  561,  .563,  566. 
Etowah  river  mound,  280. 
Etruscan  jewellery,  151. 
Europe,  time  of  man's  first  appearance 
in,  unknown,  1. 
„       whether   truly    described   by 
Pytheas,  63. 
Em'opeans  among  savages,  567. 
Evans,  Mr.,  on  early  British  coinage,  7. 
„         on  drift  implements,  343. 
,,         notes  on  flint  implements, 
345. 
researches  of,  230,  316. 
visits  Abbeville,  343. 
„         addresses  the  Academy  of 

Sciences,  3  H. 
„         finds  hatchet  near  Abbot's 
„  Langley,  347. 

„         on  certain    forms   of  flint 
implements,  353. 


Evans,  Mr.,  reference  to,  351,  353. 
Excentricity  of  earth's  orbit,  410. 
Exploration  of  shell-mounds,  223. 
Evre,   on   Australian    dwelliuglP  and 
"^customs,  438,  442,  449. 


P. 


Fables,  or  myths,  widespread,  61-. 
Fakaafo,  whether  its  natives  were  ig- 
norant of  fire,  559. 
Falconer,  Dr.,  on  bono  cave  in  Sicily, 
318 
„         Gibraltar,  319. 
„         on    the    mammoth    period, 

295. 
,,         on  the  species  of  rhinoceros, 

297. 
„         on  Bri.xham  cave,  317. 
,,         remarks  of,  236. 
,,         visits  Abbeville,  343. 
„         finds  lagomys  mnong  bones 
from' Krixliam  cave,  307. 
,,         on  cave-bear,  291. 
Falkneron  Patagonians,  532-536,  545. 
Fancies  of  uncivilized  ])eoples,  425. 
Fannerup,  shell-mound  at,  226,  228, 

flint-flake  from,  86,  215. 
Fauna  aflectcd  by  change  of  climate, 
415. 
,,      of  bone-caves,  311. 
„      of  Lakc-dwellinsrs.  191-210. 
„      of  Stone  Age,  195  210. 
„      of  drift  period,  377. 
„      of  the  shell-mounds,  231. 
Feegecan  funerals,  171. 
Fccgecans,  notices  of,  218,  451. 
Fellenberg,  79,  note. 
Felstone  used  for  celts,  78. 
Fergusson  on  Stoueheuge  and  Abury, 
120. 
Silbury  Hill,  120. 
„  on  Buddhist  Topes,  125. 

„  on   ancient  Indian   notions 

of  decency,  56  1. 
Ferrnm  (iron)  as  synonym   for  sword, 

20. 
Ferry,  H.  de,  and  A.  Arcclin.  on  flint 

implements,  nearlNIacon,  107. 
Festival  of  the  Dead,  269. 
Filhol,  M.,  3 10. 
Finns,  skulls  of,  138. 
Fire,  whether  known  to  all  races,  558. 
„     used  in  felling  and  shaping  tim- 
ber. 93. 
„     how  obtained  in  Tahiti,  478. 

,,  in  Australia,  445. 


622 


INDEX. 


Fire,  liow  ol)taine:l  liy  Indian?,  524. 
„  „  by  s:iv:ip:o:<,  558. 

„     among  'rMsmauisms,  451. 
»j  ^  )>        Maories,  462. 
„     liou-    used    by   the    Esquimaux, 
493- "00. 
Fischer,  i\I.,7t>,  note. 
Fish  ill  shL-ll-iDonnds,  231,  233. 

„    at  Isthmus  of  Piinuina,  402. 
Fish-hooks,  bronze,  32. 
Fish -spears,  523. 
Fishinij,  peculiar   modes  of,   73,    523, 

527,  539. 
Fitzroy  on  Fnegians,  537. 

„       on  P.itiijionian  hu!:s,  533. 
„       on  Tah'tinn  cruelty,  488. 
Fitz-Stepheu  refers  to  wild  bulU,  307. 
Flax  mentioned  in  the  Pentateuch  and 
Homer,  214. 
„    known  to  Lake-men,  213. 
Flaxdale  Barrow,  urn  from,  105,  166. 
Flensborfj,  implements  at,  33,  76. 
Flinder>,''4 16. 

Flint  implement  manufactories,  80-83. 
„  „  bow  formed,  352. 

„  „  antiquity,  354. 

„  „  characteristics,  355. 

„  ,,  from  drift,  356. 

„  „  from  various  sources,  357. 

„    used  for  Colts,  80. 
„    bow  manufactured,  80,  84,  89. 
„    flake  of  larji'e  size,  86. 
„    flakes,  North  American,  88,  252. 
„        „      Australian,  8;). 
„        „      from  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 

89,  108. 
„        „      New  Caledonian,  89. 

„      Mexic  n,  89. 
„         ,,       Kcrtcb,  153. 
„        „      Ijong  Barrow,  163. 
„        „      MoJn,  160. 
„       Swiss,  190. 
„     implements  of  Denmai-k,  87,  91. 
Switzerland,  91,  189, 
190. 
„  „         how  used,  84. 

„  „         of  bone-caves,  327. 

„  „         in  she'l -mounds,   227, 

237  240. 
„  „         of  tumuli    compared 

with  those  of  shell- 
mounds,  243. 
Flint-fiuds,  107,  342,  etc. 

in  England,  107,  342. 
„         in  Scotland,  107. 

in  France,  107,  312,  etc. 
„  in  other  countries,  107. 
„         questions  at  issue,  352. 


Floatinq:  dwellinp:?,  188. 

Flora  of  Lake-dweUinp^s.  178,  211. 

,,     of  shell-mounds,  231. 
Florence,  iu  Alabama,   earthwork  at, 

280. 
Florida  Indians'  buildings,  273. 
Flourens,  M.,  235. 
Flower,  Mr.,  343,  353. 

„       on  drilt-gravels,  350. 
,,       on  Grime's  Graves,  81. 
Fodiscb,  Dr.,  cited,  112. 
Food  of  the  mound  builders,  211. 
„     how  taken  in  Tahiti,  480. 
„     of  savages,  431.  439,  452,  462, 

478,  496,  535,  538. 
,,     stores  in  Arctic  regions,  495. 
Foote,    Mr.,  on    Indian    stone   imple- 
ments, 348. 
Forcbhammer,  Prof  225,  231. 
Forel,  M.,  discoveries  at  Morgcs,  13. 
.Forests  in  Wisconsin,  281,  284. 
Forged  flint  implements,  354. 
Forks  of  Fec<ri'eaiis,  454. 
Forskey,  M.,"'398.  . 
Forster  on  Fu(  gians,  537. 

„  on  Tahitians  429,  473,  485. 
Fort-hill,  Ohio,  fortification  at,  260. 
Fortifications  of  earth,  112.  259. 

„  of  iMaories,  464. 

Forts,  ancient,  112. 
Foster,  Mr.,  255. 
Fowl,    domestic,  not  found    in   Swiss 

and  Danish  ancient  remains,  199. 
Fo.-c,  207,  320. 
„    eaten  by  Esquimaux,  and  in  the 
stone  period,  195. 
France,  bone-caves  in,  312,  341. 
„       ])rimcval,  379. 
„       shell-moinids  in,  230. 
Franks,  on  supposed  Phcenician  relics 
found  in  America,  71. 
„       on  Etruscan  jewellery,  151. 
„       on  a  bronze  piu    from  shell- 

mound,  229. 
„       referred  to,  441. 
Frauklaud,    Prof,   on  glacial   epoch, 

400. 
Franklin,  opinion  of  fox  as  food,  195. 
Frere,  Mr.,  bis  tinds  at  Hoxne,  345. 
Freshwater  origin  of  giavels,  366. 
Frevcinct,  M.,  buildings  of  Ladrone 
Islanders,  549. 
„  opinion  of,  558,  571. 

„  referred  to,  564. 

Friendly  Islanders,  489. 
Froelund,  coa>t-fiiid  at,  108. 
Fruit  of  Lake-men,  212. 
I'uegians,  account  ot],  536. 


INDEX. 


G23 


Fucgians  and  Danish  mouutl-luiklers, 
5^3. 
lialiits  of,  241. 
Funeral  feasts,  170. 

„        riles  in  Australia,  4-48. 

„  „       Fee^'ee,  457. 

„       of  American  Intlians,  528. 

„        riles  iiniong:  tavage.s,  5G0. 
Funerals  in  'I'aliiti,  483. 

„         of  l']s(|iiimaiix,  511. 

„         of  ;\lii()ri,  465. 

„         of  Pata'jroiii;in«,  535. 
Sec  »hn  lUiriil,  !\itenncnt. 
Furse,  M.,  7-'.,  iw.te. 
Future  full  of  lioiie,  599. 


G. 


Glides,  wlien  founded,  G8. 
Gideed  of  JikoI)  aii<l  Laban,  115,  130. 
Galena  in  Anicriean  mounds,  253. 
Galles,  M.,  referred  to,  103,^51. 
Galton,  Mr.,  on  ACriean  eutou),  327. 

„        on   danger   of  wild   auimals, 

595. 
„        referred  to,  343. 
Game  obtained  in  v;irious  ways,  557. 
Games  of  Austialians,  4''t7. 

„      of  Es(]uiinau.\,  509. 

„      of  Fectieeans,  454. 

„      of  JMaoi'ies,  4Gfi. 
„     of  Taliitians.  477. 
Ganggraben,  131,  135,  163. 
Garden-beds  ol  Wisconsin,  282,  283. 
Garrigou,  M.,  340. 
Gastaldi,  M.,  on  early  Italian  remains, 

175. 
Gaston  do  Foi.K  and  reindeer  in  France, 

303. 
Gandrv,  M-,  bis  rescarebos,  344. 
Ciaulisii  coinage,  liow  early,  7. 
Gebelin,  Count  dc,  on  Digliton  Rock, 

278. 
Geikie,    Mr.,  on    denudation    in    pro- 
gress, 412. 
Geminus  cite<l,  67. 
"  Genesis  of  tbe  Earth  and  of  Man," 

quoted.  386. 
Genista  Cave,  319. 
Gentleman's  Magazine  referred  to,  8, 

note. 
Gcojrrapliieal  distribution  of  weapons, 

etc.,  552. 
Geological     cbangcs     in    quaternary 

period,  416. 
Geology  and  lime,  418. 

and  zool'>;^y,  parallel  processes 
in,  420.' 


Geology,  its  principles,  2. 
„        of  Dordogne,  323. 
Gervais,  Jl.,  and  remains  of  urns,  306. 
Gesner'.^  reference  to  tiie  elk,  207. 
Giant's  Dance,  what,  121. 
Gibraltar,    relies    irom    tiie    Genista 

cave,  319. 
Gigantic  figures  of  animals,  274. 

earthworks,  280. 
Gilijal,  stones  of,  115. 
Gillieron,   M..  on    lake-habitation  at 
Pont  de  Thlele,  178,  193,  » 
393. 
„        pottery,  found  by,  193. 
Gillingbam,  lenjiits  at,  53. 
Gnaldus  Cnnflnensis,  his  story  about 

Stonelienge,  121. 
Gjersboi,  shell-mounds  at,  228. 
Glacial     epoch,     astronomically     ac- 
„  „  counted  lor,  311, 

401. 
dates  for,  412. 
„  ,,  its  ]ihenomena   ex- 

plained, 416. 
Glaciers  and  moraines,  388. 
Glass  found  at  ilall>tadt.  24. 
„         ,,     in  America,  71. 
,,     beads  in  Hronzo  Age,  37. 
Glutton  or  woherine,  289,  305. 
Gobiiu    on    ignorance  of    tire   in   La- 
drones,  558. 
God,  no  name    for,  among  Abiponcs, 
579. 
,,      nations  who  know  not,  437. 
Godalming,  flint  IVom.  346. 
Godwin  Austen,  315.  313. 
(joguet,  referred  to,  6. 
Gold,  nrobablv  tirst  metal  noticed  by 
•  man,  3. 
„     ornaments  at  Koidoba,  153. 

frOM)  Iieland,  41,  12. 
Goldhaven  tumulus,  131. 
Gordon,  Dr.,  on  Scotch  shell- mounds, 
229. 
„       Ladv  Duff,  on  African  morals, 
568. 
Gorm  tinnidus,  1 16. 
Gosse,  M.,  discovery  in  valley  of  Seine, 

315. 
GougeS  of  bronze,  S7. 
(Jrant,  Captain,  578. 
(irauville  ainuial-mound,  276. 
(have  Creek  mound,  259,  260,  268, 

272,  278. 
Gravel.     See  Drift. 
(iray.  Dr.,  referied  to,  205. 

,,      jMi'..  on  custom  in  Hebrides,  1 30. 
Gray's  Thurrock,  292. 


G24 


INDEX. 


Greek   and   Roman   writers   refer  to 
burials  under  mounds  of  stone  or  of 
earth,  116. 
Greeulanders,  skulls  of,  138. 

„  ol  ject  to  eat  hare,  198. 

Greenstone  axe,  95. 
Greenwell,  Mr.,  referred  to,  247. 

„  statistics   of  funeral   rites, 

from,  50,  139,  146-150. 
„  finds    traces    of  wood    in 

tumuli,  130. 
„  his     account    of    Grime's 

Graves,  80. 
Gregory  of  Tours  quoted,  117,  217. 
Grenelle,  discoveries  at,  345. 
Grey,  Capt.,  544. 
„     on  Australian  shell-mounds,  etc., 

438. 
„     on  Australian  customs,  438, 443, 

449. 
„     on  Australian  skill  with  spear, 
545. 
Grime's  Graves,  80,  93. 
Guldhoi,  what,  46. 
Gulf  Stream,  influence  of,  101. 
Gunn,  Rev.  J.,  on  mammoth  remains, 

295. 
Guuther,  Dr.,  observation  of,  402. 


H. 


Habits  of  Cave-dwellers,  335. 

Haeckel  on  Bushmen,  434. 

Hagiar  Kem,  72. 

Haigh  on  Runic  inscription,  11. 

Hains,  Dr.,  and  the  cave-lion,  293. 

Hairpins,  30. 

Hale  on  Fakaafo  language,  559. 

Haligenes,  where  found,  404. 

Halitherium,  422. 

Hall  on  Esquimaux,  327,  514. 

Hallstadt,  cemetery  at,  22. 

„         table  of  discoveries  at,  23. 
Hammers  of  bronze,  37. 

flint,  104. 
Handles  of  stone  implements,  92, 104. 
Happiness  on  the  increase,  593,  597. 
Harald,  burial  of,  117. 
Hare  seldom  traceable,  197. 

„     opinions  concerning,  197,  198. 
Harny,  M.,  422. 
Harpoons  of  flint,  104. 
Harrison,  Pros.,  on  growth  of  forests, 

284. 
Haughton,  Rev.  S.,  78. 
Havelse,  shell-mound  at,  226. 
Haven  on  antiquities  of  the  United 

States,  250,  251,  273. 


Hazlewood  on  Feegecan  gods,  453. 
Hearne's     Journty    to     Coppermine 
River,  2".4.. 
„  on    North   American    In- 

dians, 519,  577. 
Hebert,  M.,  345. 
Hecatajus  referred  to,  123. 
Hector's  barrow,  116. 
Heer,  Prof.,  reference  to,  214. 
„      statistics  from,  213. 
,,      on  ancient  fl.ra,  178. 
Heilly,    alleged    example    of   bronze 

Roman  sword  foand  there,  18. 
Hemp,  214. 

Henslow,  Prof.,  343,  353. 
Herberstein  on  the  urus,  206, 301,  307. 
„  refers  to  wild  horse,  SOI. 

Herbst,  K.,  226. 

„        on  Jutland  tumuli,  45. 
„        his   list  of  stone  implements 
in  Copenhagen  Museum,  75. 
Hcrnand||,  89. 
Herue  Ba\-,  347. 

Herodotus  on  Pffionian  custom,  174, 
186. 
„      .    cited,  63,  66,  293. 
Herschell,   Sir   .!.,  on   change  of  cli- 
mate, 409. 
Hesiod,  date  of,  68. 

„       says  iron  was  discovered  after 

copper  and  tin,  5. 
„       steel  known  in  his  time,  5. 
„       reference  to,  199. 
Hilibert,  Dr.,  303. 
Hill  Tribes,  traditions  of,  425. 
Himilco,  voyage  of,  61. 

.,         criticism  of  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis 
upon,  61. 
Hints  to  explorers,  171. 
Hippopotamus,  fossil,  289,  298,  377. 
His,  Prof.,  on  skull  from  Meilen,  215. 
Hisely,  M.,  £94. 

Hoare,  Sir  R.  C,  on  position  of  ditch 
in  earthworks,  261. 
„      tumuli  examined  by  him,  123. 
„      on  the  blue  stones  of   Stone- 

henge,  124. 
„       on  incense  cups,  166. 
„       referred  to,  6,  35,  151,  247. 
„       statistics  from,  £0,  139,  154. 
Hog,    domestic,    200,    209,   377;    its 

origin,  201,  234. 
Homer,  date  of,  68. 

„        refers  to  flax,  214. 

„        on  decoration  of  shields,  73. 

„        on  use  of  iron,  etc.,  5. 

referred    to,     109,    115,    118, 
199,  565. 


INDEX. 


G21 


Hooker,  Dr.,  liis  slcetcli  of  Caraac,  125. 
„       ou  funeral  rites  of  the  Kliasias, 

127. 
„        on  Fui'gian  liardinoss,  513. 
„        on  Indiiiii  dolnions,  128. 
„        referred  to,  126,  note. 
Hopkins    on    cliauijes   of  climate   in 

Europe;  399. 
Horn  from  sliell-monnds,  239. 
Horner,  Mr.,  lleseavclies  in  E^vpt,  391. 
Horse  fossil,  200,  289.  317,  320,  377. 
„      wild,  300. 
„      found   iu  Lake-dwcUiugs,  200, 

209. 
„      sacrificed,  170,  171. 
„      Indians,  532. 
Hospitality  among  savages,  567. 
Hottentots,  429.       • 

„         prejudiceagainst  hare,  198. 

skill,  516. 
„  without  religion,  578. 

Houses  of  Fcegeaiis,  453. 
„       of  Maories,  463. 
„       of  Tahilians,  476. 
Houzeau,  M.,  82. 
Hoxne,  relies  from,  345,  36G. 
Hudson's    Bay   Coui])any,    skins    re- 
ceived hy,  359. 
„  territory,  population  of,  359. 

593. 
Hughes,  Mr.,  his  finds  in  Kent,  318. 
Human     bones    not   found   in   shell- 
mounds,  2 10. 
„         remains    rare   in   pileworks, 

214, 
»  I,         very  rare  iu  drift, 

357,  358. 
„  ,.  of  Denmark,  210. 

„         sacrifices,  170,  159,  467. 
,>  „  of  Feegeans,  457. 

„  „  of  Maories,  467. 

Humphrey  Jiud  Abbott  on  Mississippi 

drift,  398. 
Hungary  copper  implements,  58. 
Hunt,  Mr.,  on  Feegeeau  custom,  457. 
Hunting  amon<,'  the  Esquimaux,  503. 
„        and  fishing  of  Indians,  527, 

539. 
„        in  primitive  period,  586. 
Hut-urns,  51. 

„         found  in  Ifaly,  51. 
>i  „        Germany,  51,  52. 

„  „        Denmark,  52. 

Hut-circles,  78. 

Huxley,  Prof,  on  geogrnphieal  distri- 
bution of  man,  387. 
„       on  Eufris  skull,  337,  310. 
„       on  Neanderthal  skull,  338. 
42 


Hyaena,  the  Cave-,  289,  293,  317,  320 

377. 
Hyer,  Mr.,  discovers  Aztalan,  264. 


I. 


Ibex,  207,  32R. 
Ice  at  the  ifouth  Pole,  407. 
„  boulders  in,  371. 
„  .sludge,  64. 
Ickiingham,  flint  from,  317. 
Ignorance  and  crime,  599. 

„  misery,  600. 

Ilford,  £92. 
Imitative  art,  548. 
Implements  of  Esquimaux,  500. 
„  made  of  flint,  87. 

„  of  stDue,  various.  75,  etc. 

„  of  bone  and  wood,  189. 

„  Indian,  521. 

„  of  savages.  546. 

„  in  1  one-beds,  349. 

Incense  cups,  1G6. 
Independent  inventions,  556. 
India,  Mcgalithic  remains  in,  125. 
„      stone  implements  found  iu,  108, 

348. 
„      suttee,  171. 
Indian  coiu-Uills,  282. 

„      customs  in  America,  2619. 
„      dolmens,  1  >.7,  I'-P,  129,  131. 
Indians,  diminution  of,  529. 
„        of  North  America,  515. 
„        of    Pataguay,   some  account 
of,  5£0. 
Infanticide  in  ancient  Pritnin,  171. 
„  among    Esquimau.v,    171, 

512. 
„  of  Aniorican  Indians,  521. 

„  of  Hottentots,  434. 

„    •      in  Paraguay,  531. 
„  of  Maories, '4  66. 

„  Polynesian.  466. 

„  in  Tahiti,  487. 

Inhabitants  of  Lake-vilhiges,  218. 
Inheiitance  and  succession,  561. 
Inscriptions,  Punic,  8,  note,  11. 

,,  not  found  in  Bronze  Age, 

11. 
„  Roman,  11. 

„  on  celt  at  Home,  45. 

„  doubtful,     iu     America, 

278. 
Intellect  in  primitive  period,  586. 
Intellectual  estimate  of  savages,  572. 
Interment,  modes  of,  49,  268. 
See  also  Burial,  Funeral. 


626. 


INDEX. 


Inventions  sometimes  independent  and 

sometimes  borrowed,  586. 
Ireland,  celts  from,  25,  27. 

„        copper  implements  in,  58. 
„        not  certain  that  Romans  en- 
tered it,  58. 
Irish  elk,  299,  321. 

„     gold  ornaments,  41. 
Iron  Age,  what,  3. 
„       „      burials  in,  157. 
„    among  the    Gauls  and   Caledo- 
nians, 6. 
„    its  early  use,  4,  6,  7,  74. 
„    epithets,  applied  to,  by  poets,  4. 
„    use  of,  gem-ral,  in  Northel-n  Eu- 
rope, before  invasion  of  Julius 
Cajsar,  22. 
„    use  of,  in  Mexico,  77. 
„    weapons  not  found  with  bronze, 

12. 
„    unknown  to  early  Americans,  252. 
„    how  smelted  by  Hottentots,  432. 
„    relics  at  Tiefenau,  7,  221. 
Isolation  of  savages,  554. 
Italy,  bone -caves  in. 
Ivory  found  at  Hallstadt,  24. 
„         „  Kouloba,  153. 


Jade  used  for  celts,  79,  163,  189. 
„     not  found  in  Europe,  79. 

Jahn   and  Uhlniann   on  Swiss  Lake- 
dwellings,  178. 

Jahn  on  discoveries  at  Tiefenau,  7. 

James,   expedition  to  Rocky   Moun- 
tains, 93. 
„        on  American  tumuli,  130. 

Jamieson,  T.  F.,  on  flint-find  in  Scot- 
land, 107. 

Japan,  stone  implements  found  in, 
„      burial  custom,  151. 
„      its  prehistoric  archteology  not 
yet  known,  3. 

Javelins,  bronze,  31. 

Jefferson,  Mr.,  on  skeletons  in  a  tumu- 
lus in  Virginia,  269. 

Jeffreys,  Mi-.,  on  moUusca  of  Somme 
Valley,  367. 

Telalabad  tumuli.  111. 

Jellinge,  116. 

Jenkin,  A. ,  letter  to  the  author,  608. 

Jensen,  M.,  157. 

Jewellery  in  Etruscan  tombs,  151. 
„         at  Kouloba,  153. 

Jews  refused  to  eat  hare,  198. 

Joass,  Mr.,  304. 


Jobson,  his  map  of  1591,  177- 
Jones,  R.,  343. 
Judicial  statistics,  609. 
Jukes,  440,  577. 
Justin,  217. 

Jutland,  contents  of  coffins  found  in, 
45-49. 
„        shell-mounds  of,  228. 


K. 

Kajak  and  Umiak,  506. 
Kamskatchadale  yourt,  492. 
Kandyans,  436. 

Kane  on  Cree  Indian  swearing,  521. 
„     on  Redskins  and  portraits,  528, 

581. 
„      on  Esquimaux  bird-catching, 
„      quoted  or  referred  to,  495,  498, 
500,  505,  557. 
Kattegat,  tides  of,  230. 
Kattinge   and    Kattinge  Vserk   shell- 
mounds,  228. 
Keller,  Dr.,  on  ancient  pottery,  192. 
,,        on  primitive  Swiss,  219. 
„        on  human  remains   in  Lake- 
villages,  215. 
remarks  of,  44,  180. 
„       discovery   of  Lake-dwellings, 

173. 
„       Memoirs   on   Lake-dwellings, 
175,  178. 
Kemble,  referred  to,  117. 
Kennet,  119. 

Kent,  flint  implements  from,  38,  347. 
Kent's  Hole,  a  bone-cave,  315. 
Kertch,  tumulus  near,  153. 
Kestou,  its  etymology,  122. 
Keyserling,  opinion  of  mammoth,  295. 
Khasias,  funeral  rites  of,  127. 
Kiel,  stone  implements  at,  76. 
Kinunerirge,  shale  bead,  163. 
King,  M.,  on  Mammoth,  295. 

referred  to,  348,  440. 
Kingsley,  Mr.,  298. 
Kircudbrightshire,  cairn  in,  94. 
Kissing,  not  universal,  563. 
Kistvaen,  136. 

Kit's  Coty  House,  view  of,  112. 
Kjokkenmoddings    or    shell-mounds, 

76,  78,  96,  223,  etc. 
Knapp,  Mr.,  255. 
Knives,  bronze,  33. 

„       found  at  Thebes,  33. 
„       flint,  88,  523. 
stone,  189. 
Knox's  "  Ceylon"  quoted,  64,  435. 


INDEX. 


G2' 


Kocli,  Dr.,  account  of  ^Mastodon,  280. 
KbIicii,  on  stone  circles  in  Arabia,  113. 
Koll)en,  on  Hottentots,  -130,  433,  546, 
^  580. 

Kols,  modern  tradition  among,  425. 
Kongehoi,  what,  46. 

„         contents  of,  49. 
Korsiir,  coast-find  at,  105. 
Kotzebue,  291,  4S7,  581. 
KouJoba  tumulus,  contents  of,  153. 


Ladronc  Islanders,  whether  once  igno- 
rant of  fire,  558. 
Ladrone.s,  bouses  in,  519. 
Lafitan,  M.,  cited,  114. 
Lagomyx,  or  tiiillcss  hare,  307,  317. 
Laing,  JNIr.,  305,  514. 
Lains,  cairn  of,  116. 
Lake-hanilet,    ancient  model    of,    at 
jMunid),  52. 
„     habitations  of  Switzerland,  12, 

173,  178-222. 
n  „  mentioned  I)y  Hero- 

dotus, 174! 
>»  »  in  England,  174. 

»  »  in        Mecklenbursr, 

175. 
»  „  Jn  Ireland,  167. 

»  ,.  in  Scotland,  174. 

»  „  in  Italy,  175. 

»  ).  in  Franco,  175. 

»  M  none   in    Denmark, 

106. 
"  „  modern,  175. 

>>  ..  literature   of,      174, 

175,  178. 
»  "  their  ago,  179,  208, 

220. 
"  »  structure,  179, 181, 

185. 
j>  >.  fauna  of,  194. 

»t  »  floi-a  of,  211. 

'»  .»  statistics,  179. 

'»  .,  position,  181. 

"  .1  indications,  182. 

»  relics  of,  181,  183, 

185. 
»  »  at  U'auwyl,  182. 

"  ».  ofBronzoAgo,  215. 

„     Superior,  antiquities  near,  273. 
„     villages,  decreased  gradually  in 

nuni!)er,  220. 
„     worshippers,  217. 
Lake-men,  their  food,  etc.,  191,  193 
212,  214. 
»»  ..     remains,  214. 


Lake-men,  their  character,  210.  220. 
Lamanon,  M,  dc,  on  Columbian  Indian 

Alpliabet,  562. 
Land,  level  of,  affected  by  rivers,  412. 
Lang,  Mr.,  on  Australian  customs,  450. 
Language  of  Australians,  etc.,  41^,  451 
452. 
„        and  sounds,  386,  562,  571, 
573. 
Lapham  discovers  and  describes  ani- 
mal-mounds, 274. 
„         on   Wiscon.-in     antiquities, 

250,  251,  255,  2G1. 
„         on  Wisconsin  forests,   281, 

285. 
„         on  corn-hills,  282. 
„        on  Wisconsin  garden-beds, 
285. 
Lapland  "  jamme,"  132. 
„         skulls,  138. 
„         customs,  327,  568. 
Laplanders   retreating   from  civiliza- 
tion, 302. 
Lartet,  51.,  on  bone-cave  at  Aurio^nac 
319-322.  "       ' 

M  on    Palseontological    chro- 

nology, 289. 
>>  on    caves     in     Dordoc-ne, 

323,  etc. 
.,  finds  no  traces  of  reindeer 

in  Spanish  caves,  302. 
„  opinion  of,  305,  591,  note. 

^    .,  discovery      among     bones 

from  cave  near  Madrid, 
319. 
„  experiment  made  by,  332. 

»>  ou   drawings    in    cave    of 

Savigne,  333. 
„  on  Rhinoceros  leptorhinus, 

297,  298. 
..  on  quaternary  climate.SlO. 

"  on      marked      rhinoceros 

bones,  362. 
„  makes  flint  needle,  548. 

„  reference  to,  345,  361. 

Lastic,  Vicomte  de,  his  collection  from 

Bruuiquel,  327. 
La  Tene,  metal  implements  found  at,  7. 
Lead  not  found  in  Bronze  A" 0,  20,  37! 
„     used  in  Iron  A^o,  16.      '      ' 
„     perhaps  known  to  ancient  Ame- 
ricans, 253. 
Leech,  Mr.,  finds  flint  implements  near 

Heme  Bay,  317. 
Leems  on  custom  of  Danish  Lapland- 
ers, 327. 
Lee's    translation     of     Dr.     Kellers 
"  Memoirs,"  178. 

J 


G28 


INDEX. 


Lofeaux,  Mr.,  letter  to  the  author,  607. 

Lefebore.M.,  161,  note. 

Lefroy,  M.,  quoted,  569. 

Le'uly,  Dr..  and  Felis  atrox,  293. 

Lemiuhig,  307,  378. 

L2opard,  fossil,  where  fouad,  294. 

Lepsius,  M.,  395. 

Leslie,  GoL.  12J,  note. 

Letourneaux,  M.,  127,  note. 

Letters   on    AniJi-icmi  uiitiniities     of 

doubtful  character,  278-2S0. 
Le  Vailhiut  ou  Hottentots,  578. 
Leveille,  Dr.,  on  a  flint-find  at  Pres- 

signy,  83,  107. 
Lewis/Sir  G.  C,  on  the  transport  of 
till  to  the  East,  61. 
„  on    the    voyage     of 

Himileo,  61. 
„  on    the    voyage    of 

Pythcas,  63. 
„  on  ancient  supply  of 

tin,  61,  70. 
Lichtenstein,  435. 
Liege,  bone-caves  near,  64. 
Life,  indift'erence  to,  437,  552. 
Liuen  used  for  dress  in  Bronze  Age, 

45. 
Lion,  the  cave,  289, 293,  317, 320,  377. 
Lipari,  what  Pytbeas  says  of  it,  63. 
Lisch,  Dr.,  on  hut-urns,  51,  52. 

„  on  pile-dwellings  iu  Meck- 

lenburg, 175. 
Literature,  its  uses,  598. 
Livingstone,  Dr.,  Ill,  note,  578.  « 

"  Livres  de  beurre,"  83. 
Loch  Resort,  beehive  liouses  near,  54. 
Loch  Spynie,  shell- mounds  at,  229. 
Locke,  Prof.,  describes  animal  mounds, 

274. 
Loess,  390. 

Lohle,  M.,  on  piles  used  at  Wangen, 
186,  357. 
„         on  find  at  Wangen,  13. 
London,  flint  weapon,  found  iu,  345. 
Long  B  irrow,  tumulus  at,  161. 
Long  Island,  remains  at,  54. 
Lonjjlow,  136. 

Los  Jardines,  islands  mentioned,  559. 
Lovainc,    Lord,    ou    lake-dwelling   iu 

south  of  Scotland,  174. 
Lubbock,  Sir  J.  W.,   ou  alteration  of 

earth's  axis,  401. 
Lucretius  mentions  the  Stone,  Bronze, 

and  Iron  Ages,  6. 
Lukis,  ou  sepulchral  tumuli,  16 
Ijvcus,  mound  of,  116. 
Lyell,  Su-  C,  287,  343. 

,,     on  change  of  river  oourses,  3812. 


Lyell  on  ancient  site  of  Brighton,  364. 

,,     on  chronological  problems,  420. 

,,     on  antiquity  of  man,  422. 

,,     on  changes  of  climate,  409. 

,,     table  of  excentricity   of  earth's 
orbit,  411. 

,,     on  duration  of  glacial  epoch,  416. 

,,     quoted,  396. 

,,     on  age  of  Mississippi  delta,  397. 

„     mentioned,  316,  371. 
Lynx,  fossil,  found  in  England,  294. 
Lyon,  Capt.,  on  Esquimaux,  497,  508. 

„  „  J,      sledges,  505. 

„      opinion  of  foxes  as  food,  195. 

„      on  formation  of  ice,  65. 


M. 


Maccagnone  cave,  318. 
McEnery,  Mr.,  307. 

„         his    researches    in    Kent's 
cavern,  315. 
3IacJiairoclus  latidens,  307. 
Mackenzie    on    Esquimaux     opinions 

about  Englisliraen,  425. 
Macon,  flint-tinds  near,  107. 
Madrid,  relics  from,  382. 
Magell.ui  on  stature    of    Patagonian 
tribes,  532. 
„       referred  to,  558. 
Madagascar,  custom  in,  125. 
Maize  grown  iu  North  America,  526. 
Malay  language,  574. 
Mallet,  Mr.,  liis  discovery  of  tin  in  a 

so-called  copjier  celt,  58. 
Malta,  ruin  in,  72. 

„      its  ornaments,  169. 
Malton,  stone  axe  fbnnd  there,  609. 
Mammalia  of  drift,  377. 

„         in  shell-mounds,  233. 
„         in  Lake-dwellings,  195. 
Mammoth,  289,  294,  317,  320,  361, 
377. 
near  Madrid,  362. 
Man,  bis  antiquity,  1,  287,  288,  361, 
379.  385,  etc. 
„     his  primitive  condition,  585. 
„     his  difl'usion,  587. 
„     and  his  intellect,  591. 
Mandan  wigwams,  280. 
Manne-er-H'roek  tumulus,  163. 
Maories,  notices  of,  461, 568,  570.    See 

New  Zealanders. 
Marco  Polo,  151. 
Mare  di  Sargasso,  63. 
Marmots,  307,  326. 
Marriage  among  Maories,  466. 


INDEX. 


629 


Marriage    customs   of  American  In- 

diiins,  520. 

„  „         otlur  natiims,  436, 

437, '149,455,466, 

513,  567. 

Marrow,  ancient   love  of,  illustrated, 

236,  211. 
Marsdoii,  Mr.,  466,  565. 
Marseilles,  when  founded,  68. 
Massou  quoted,  111. 
Mastodon  in  Missouri,  286. 
„         „  Mississippi,  287. 
„         „  France,  422. 
Materials   preferred   for    stone  imple- 
ments, 77. 
Mather.  Prof.,  quoted,  256. 
Mattliews,  Mr.,  on  Fuegians,  580. 
Maurice,  Mr.,  alludes  to  stone  raonn- 

nients  iu  India,  125. 
McGillivray  on  Australian  canoes,  429. 

„  relerreil  to,  134. 

Means  of  subsistence  increasin<r,  594'. 
Meath,  sculptured  stones  in,  169. 
Meciilenburg,  60. 

„  brooch,  40. 

Megalithic  monuments  called  Druidl- 
cal,  119. 
„  „         how  constructed, 

16. 
„  „         how     decorated, 

167. 
„  „         remains  in  India, 

125,  129. 
Meilcn,  remains  at,  197. 
Meil-aard,  shell-mound  at,  224,  226- 

228. 
Mela,Pomponiu.s,  on  founders  of  Gadcs, 

68. 
Men,  which  most  barbarous,  550. 

„     oaily  varieties  of,  240. 
Menchecoiut,  312. 

Mendip  Hills,  Fel'is  xpelcea  from,  293. 
Menhirs,  109.  112,  128. 
Mental  powers  of  savages,  572. 
Mcihn,122. 

Merry,  Mr.,  on  use  of  boomerang,  444. 
Metal,   where  not  used  till  recently, 
429. 
„      unknown  in  Tahti.  469. 
„      unknown  to  cave-men,  335. 
„      not  fbuml    in    certain   tumuli, 

161,  163,101. 
„      not  fdund  iu  sbelWnounds,  241. 
Mexicans  u-ed  both   stone  and  metal, 

77,  80,  8 1 . 
Mexican  flint  implements,  09  91^ 
„        paintii^fis  referred  to,  253. 
ten^.l)le,  429. 


Meyer,  F.  von,  fossil  ox  found  by,  20 1-. 
Miehaelis,  385. 

Miclul,  Mont  St.,  tumulus,  163. 
Mi'jrat  on,  facts  connected  with,  587. 
Millet  found  iu  Lake-vilhiges,  211. 
]\lilwaukie  animal-mounds,  277. 
!Mincopies,  436. 
jSIiiid  and  its  influences,  591. 
Mineralopy  of  Diitt,  361. 
Mines,  ancient  American,  254. 
Mississippi,  man  and  mastodon  in,  287 
„  delta,  age  of.  397. 

„  valhy,     relics     from,    79, 

357,  note. 
Jlissouri,  mastodon  fomid  in,  286. 
Jloab,  stone  mcnuments  in,  125. 
Mddel  of  1-ake-liamht  at  Munich,  52. 
Models  buried  with  the  dead,  150. 
Modern  eartiiworks  in  America,  268. 
Mcien,  tumulus  at,  157. 

„      spear-head  from,  100. 
IMcprigen  bronze  relics,  43. 
Molhisca  in  drift,  318,  377. 
Monaghan,  stone  axe  from,  92.       • 
Mongez,  M.,  on  sword  found  at  Heilly, 

18. 
Moidscys  crack  nuts  with  stones,  584. 
Monkuian,  Mr.,  extract  from,  609. 
Mont  St.  -Michel,  tunndus,  183. 
Montperieux,  reference  to,  129. 
Monzie,  in  Perthshire,  "  wcem"  at,  53. 
jMoore,  Mr.,  410. 

Moosscedorf,  13, 14, 189,195, 197-199. 
Moral,  483,  549. 

Moral  estiinate  of  savaoros,  567,  572. 
Morges,   finds  at,   13,   15,   32-34,  45, 

180. 
Morlot,  M.,  woik  of,  referred  to,  24,  37. 

„       on  age  of  the  cone  of  Tiniere, 
389. 

„       on  shell-mounds,  226. 

„       observations  of,  24,  39,  419. 

„       on  glacial  periods,  311. 

„       on  lake-dweirnigs,  178. 

„       on  Phauiiciiius  in  America,  71. 

„       on  twofold  cliaracter  of  glacial 
epoch,  414. 

„       on  ebronological  schemes,  414. 
Mortillet,  M.  de,  referred  to,  119. 

„  an  ojiiniou  of,  314. 

Morton,  Dr.,  279. 
Jlouatt  on  Andamaners,  436,  577. 
Moulds    for    casting    c^lts    found  at 

Morges.  etc.,  45,  60. 
Mound'-buil.lers  of  America,  280. 

„       Citv,  tunndi  at,  270. 

„       burial,    its    early    prevalence 
116. 


630 


INDEX. 


Monnds  among  the  Esquimaux,  512. 

See  also  Barrow,  Tumulus. 
Mourcin,  M.,  collection  of  relics  from 

Perigueux,  332. 
Mouse  not  traced  in  Lake-dwellings, 

199. 
Moussa,  Burgh  of,  54,  55. 
Munich,  uiolIcI  of  Lake-hamlet  in  the 

Museum  there,  52. 
Murchison,  Sir  II.,  343,  375,  note. 

„  opinion   of   mammoth, 

295. 
Mnscoda,  animal-mound,  275. 
Museum  of  Koyal  Irish  Academy,  76. 
Music,  455,  465,  476,  509,  598. 
Musk  ox,  or  musk  sheep,  fossil,  289, 

298,  377. 
Mylne,  Mr.,  343. 
Myths,  their  uses,  427. 


N. 


Nagelflue,  79. 
Nails  of  tin,  49. 
Natchez,  Indian  houses,  273. 
Natural  History  Review  referred  to, 
8,  note. 
„         selection  among  men,  590. 
Navigators,  ancient,  61. 
Neanderthal  skull,  337. 
Needles  of  bronze,  37. 
Negro,  ancient  origin  of,  386. 
Neolithic  Age,  3,  75. 

„  „     burial  in,  151,  156. 

„  „     few     interments       of, 

known,  165. 
New  Caledonian  flint  flake,  89. 
New  Orleans,  ancient  relics  from,  287. 
New  York  State,  archeology  of,  250. 
New  Zealand  adze,  97,  99. 
NewZealanders,332, 424.  SeeMaories. 
„  „  funeral     rites,    133, 

465. 
Newark  in  America,  earthworks   at, 

262,  280. 
Newton,  Mr.,  on  remains  near  Thet- 
ford,  174. 
„  on  zoology  of  ancient  Eu- 

rope, 293,  note. 
„     Sir  Isaac,  reference  to,  601. 
Niam  niam,  iron  crescent  of,  554. 
Nicobar  Icelanders'  religion,  581. 
Nidau,  12-15,  32-35,  43. 
Nifbelungen  Lied,  quoted,  206,  300, 

306. 
Niuderwyl,  pile-dwellings,  186. 
Nile  valley,  elevation  of,  394. 


Nilsson,  Prof.,  his  services  in  Archaso- 
logical  science,  6. 
„       his  theory  of  the  Bronze  Age, 

61. 
„       his    remarks    on    Voyage    of 

Pytheas,  65-67. 
„       his  arguments  for  Phajnician 
connexions     with     Norway 
analyzed     and     estimated, 
71-73. 
„       on  descent  of  oxen,  205. 
„       on  "Ganggraben,"  134. 
„       referred  to,  50,  138,  271,  306, 
425. 
Nind,  Mr.  S.,  448,  575. 
Ninns  buried  under  mound  of  eai'th, 

116. 
Nonville,M.  de,  281. 
Nordmauu  on  the  Aurochs,  306. 
Norman,  Mr.  H.  J.,  Discovery  of  flint 

implements  in  Kent,  348. 
North  American  flint  flake,  91. 
,,  ,,         archeology,  250. 

,,  ,,         antiquities       classed, 

252. 
,,  ,,         Indians,  424. 

Noi  tlmmberland  tumuli,  contents  of, 

149. 
Norway,   supposed  traces   of  Phoeni- 
cians in,  71. 
Nott,  Mr.,  488. 

„     and  Gliddon,  287,  note. 
Noville,  remains  of  ass  at,  199. 
Nudity  not  always  thought  indecent, 

564. 
Numbers  and  numerals,  574. 
Numeration  of  Australians,  448,  575. 
„  of  the   Esquimaux,    513, 

574. 
,,  of  the  Paraguayans,  531. 

Nurhags,  56. 
Nydam,  discoveries  at,  8,  9. 

O. 

Oak-tree  in  Denmark,  248. 
Oats  known  in  Bronze  Age,  211. 
Oberea's  mound  in  Tahiti,  164,  483. 
Objects  buried  with  the  dead,  139, 161. 
Obsidian    weapons     and     implements 
of  Snake  Indians,  523.  See 
Flint  Flake. 
„      in  Mexico,  89. 
Offa's  Dyke,*113. 
Ogham  Alphabet,  605. 
Ohio,  ancient  works  in,  258,  etc. 
Old  Testament  style  and  Arab  speech, 
425. 


INDEX. 


631 


Oldfield,  Mr.,  quoted,  410.  415. 

„  ,,    oil   native  population  of 

Australia,  5'Jl. 
„  „    Deaths  in  Australia,  595. 

Oliyer,   Lieut.,   on   Madagascar    cus- 
tom, 125. 
Olsen,  M.,  his  care  of  the   Meilgaard 
shell  inouiid.  227. 
„    •    „     collections,  217. 
"Ooloo"  of  Esquimaux,  99. 

„       Danish  counterpart  of,  98. 
Ordnance  Map  referred  to,  120. 
Orkney,  stone  circles  in,  114. 

„       "  biivghs"  in,  55. 
Ormoud,  Mr.,  on  stone  circles  in  Aus- 
tralia, 114. 
Ornamental  devices  on  hronze,  41. 
Ornamentation  of  bronze  produced  in 
the  castins:,  -10,  41. 
„  later  by  hammering,  41. 

Ornaments  of  ancient  Americans,  258. 
,,         of  bronze,  33. 
„         of  Esquimaux,  508. 
„         of  savages,  446,  463,  475, 
516,534. 
Osborn,  Capt.,  on  Esquimaux  lamps, 

499. 
Ossuaries  of  American  Indians,  267. 
Otaheite,  mound  in,  IC 1. 
Otter,  207. 
Oval  tool-stones,  102. 
Owen,  Prof.,  tindsthe  larfomj/s  among 
bones  from  Kent's  Ca- 
vci-n,  307. 
„  on  fossil  horse,  200,  300. 

,,  rhinoceros  from  Clactou, 

297. 
„  skull  from  Bruniqucl,  340. 

Irish  elk,  299. 
„  on  Andamaners,  436,  550. 

Owl,  snowy,  307. 

Ox  used  for  dillercnt  purposes.  558. 
Oxen  of  the  L:>ke-dwellings,  204. 
„     Chillingham   and   Lyme    Park, 
204. 
Oysters  iu  Denmark,  231,  232. 


P. 


Paalstab  or  Paal  stave,  29. 

Pacific  Islanders,  religion  of,  577. 

Pajonians,  their  lake-dwellings,  174. 

Pain,  relief  of,  587. 

Palseolitbic    or  Arehajolithic  Age,  2, 
75,  114. 
„  Age,    its   interments   un- 

known, 151. 


Palasontological  Chronology  of  Lartet, 

291. 
Palestine,  stone  circles,  etc.,  in,  115. 
„         stone  implements  found  in, 
108. 
Palgrave  on  antiquity  of  man,  1. 
"  Palheta,"  or  throwing-stiek,  555. 
Pallas   refers  to  reindeer  in  Eastern 

P^urope,  301. 
Paraguay  Indians,  account  of,  530. 
Parciiim,  hut-urn  found  near,  51. 
Parkyns  on  Abyssinian  notions,  425. 
Parricide  of  Hdttentots,  431. 
„        of  Feegeeans,  457. 
in  Tahiti,  4>  8. 
Parry,  Capt.,  on  Esquimaux  dwellings, 
493. 
„     on  Esquimaux  habits,  494 ,  498. 
„     on  Esquimaux  dress,  507. 
„     on  Esquijuaux superstitions, 512. 
,,     on  Esquimaux  character,  514. 
Passage  graves.     See  Ganggraben. 
Patagonians,  notices  ot,  531. 
Pateiculus,  Veil.,  on  founders  of  Gades, 

68. 
Patroclus,  his  tomb,  116, 118. 
Pauilhuic,  large  Hint  flakes  found  at,  86. 
Pausanias  cited,  116. 
Pease  found  in  Lake-dwellings,  212. 
Peat-bogs,  antiquities  in,  224. 
Peat  of  8omnic  valley,  378. 
Peck,  Cajitain,    relies    found  by  him 

near  Ontonagon  river,  284. 
Pengellv,  Mr., ids  researches,  230, 291, 

316,  317. 
Penn's  Treaty  with  Indians,  279. 
Penpits,  53,  78. 
Pentateuch,  its  mention  of  bronze  and 

iron,  5. 
Percy,  Dr.,  letter  to  the  author,  607. 
Perils  of  wild  animals  and  men.  595. 
Periods  of  American  history,  285. 
Peru,  stone  circles  in,  114. 
Petavius,  386. 
Petrie,    Mr.,   on  early  references    to 

Orkney  circles,  114. 
Pewankee  animal-monnds,  276. 
Pfahlbauten  or  Lake-villages,  14,  etc. 
Phillips,  Prof.,  316. 
Phoenician  art  imperfectly  represented 
in  our  museums,  72. 
„         colonies  and  commerce,  68. 
„         sources  of  copper  and  tin, 

69. 
„         connnercc  and  Bronze  Age, 

60. 
„         trade    with     Britain     and 
Spain,  70. 


632 


INDEX. 


Phoenician     supposed    knowledge    of 
America,  71,  278. 
„  supposed    knowledge    of 

Norwjiy,  71. 
Physical    geography  and  ethnology, 

387. 
Picts'  houses  desciibed,  53,  78,  135. 
Picture-wi'iting,  270. 
Pigorini,  Prof.,  51. 

„       on    early   Italian    remains, 
175. 
Piles  for  lake-dwellinss,  93. 
Pileworks.  chronological  place  of,  208. 
Pillows  of  earthenware,  218. 
Pine-tree  in  Denmark.  233,  248. 
Pins  of  bronze,  31-37,  229. 
Pipes  in  Ameritan  tumuli,  270. 
Piquigny,  find  at,  19;  alleged  example 
of  bronze  lloman  sword  found  there, 
19. 
Plants  of  Lake-men,  212. 
Plato,  63. 

Pliny,  on  foundation  of  Utlca,  68. 
„      on  bison,  :;05. 
„      mentions  sacred  lakes,  217. 
Pliocene  period,  man  supposed  to  have 

lived  in,  421. 
Polecat,  320. 

Polybius  on  voyrge  of  Pytheas,  63. 
Polygamy  of  A  istralians,  449. 
Polynesian  iiifantioide,  406. 
Pompei,  no  bronze   swords   or    celts 

found  at,  20. 
Pond-barrows,  135,  note. 
Pont  de  Thiele,  find  at,  14, 178,  393. 
Pontlevoy,  find  .at,  421. 
Ponzi,   and  remains  of  reindeer  from 

Campagna,  302. 
Poole,  Mr.,  quot^  d,  588. 
Population  of  hunting  countries,  358. 
„         increases    with    the    civili- 
zation of  peoples,  594. 
„         scanty  in  primitive  times, 

357. 
„  „       barbarous  countries, 

359. 
Portraits,  odd  notions  about,  528,  581, 
Pottery  from  sliell-mounds,  229,  230, 
239,  2 10. 
„        from  Muen.  159,  160,  161. 
„  ■      from  West  Kennet,  162,  163. 
„        sepulchral,  165. 
„        in  ancient  times,  257. 
,,        general  occurrence  of,  257. 
„        cliai-acteristics  of,  257. 
„        of  lironze  Age,  193,  217. 
„        of  Americans,  257,  258. 
„        of  difiVcent  ages,  16. 


Pottery  of  Fcegeeans,  454. 
„    '    of  til e  Stone  Age,  l92. 
„         rudimental,  585. 
„        liut-uriis  of,  51,  52. 
„        from  Wauwyl,  189. 
„        substitute  ibr,  among  Esqui- 
maux, 494. 
„        unknown  to  cave-men,   333^ 

335,  550. 
„  „  theVeddahs,435. 

„  „  Andamaners,437. 

„  „  Australians,  441. 

„  „  Maories,  462. 

in  Tahiti,  477. 
„       imused  by  Patagonians,  533. 
„  „  Fuegians,  542. 

Pouchet,  M.,  345. 
Pourtales,  Count,  finds  human  bones  in 

calcareous  conglomerate,  287. 
Prado,  M.  de,  discovery  near  Madrid, 

362. 
Precy,  discovery  at,  345.  ^ 

Pi'ecession  of  Equinoxes,  405. 
Pi-e-historic  races  of  men,  170. 

,,  relics,  109,  and  passim. 

,,  times,  Palgrave  on,  1. 

Pressigny  le  Grand,  flint   implements 

made  there,  83. 
Prestwich,  Mi-.,  researches  of,  230,  317, 
353,  361. 
„         visits  Abbeville,  343. 
„         on     geology     of     Somme 

Valley,  363. 
„         on  action  of  ice,  371. 
„         table   of    mammalia    from 
Bedford,      Abbeville, 
Amiens,  and  Paris,  377. 
„         on     relation     of    loess   to 

gravel,  380. 
„         on  hippopotamus,  310. 
„         on     flint   implement   seen 

i)i  situ,  353. 
„         English  river-beds,  369. 
„         on  composition  of  marl,  375. 
Prichard,  Dr.,  on  common  chronology, 

385. 
Primitive  condition  of  man,  589. 
Problems  to  be  solved,  352. 
Progress  of  happiness  of  men,  593. 
Property,  descent  of,  561. 
Pyramidal    structures    in   "Wisconsin, 

265,  281. 
Pyramids  of  Egypt,  111. 
Pytheas,  voyage  of,  350  B.C.,  63. 

„       criticism  of  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis 
upon,  63. 


INDEX. 


633 


Q 


Quarterly  Review,  120. 
Quixternary  inanimalia,  289. 

„  period,  fjeological  changes 

in,  416. 
Quatrefages,  M.  de,  on  descent  of  oxen, 
205. 
„  referred  to,  315. 


R. 


Races  of  men,  587. 

Rae,  Dr.,  on  Esqninianx,  496,  513. 

„       referred  to,  360. 
Rainorino,  Prof., on  niark^l  bones,  421, 
Ranisauer,  cenielery  discovered  by,  22. 
Ramsiiy,  Prof.,  referred  to,  317,  343, 

352. 
Ransom,  Dr.,  finds  lynx  in  Derbyshire, 

294. 
Rat  not  found  in  Lake-dwellings,  199. 
Razor  knives  of  bronze,  33,  35,  48. 
Reaping,  peculiar  mode  of,  71. 
Red  deer,  208,  3;J5. 
Regnard,  a  notion  among  the  Lapps, 

568. 
Regnoli,  M.,  291,  302,  340. 
Roigate,  thiid  liu.ls  at,  107. 
Reindeer,  2S9,  301-305,  321,  377. 

„         not    found    with   Neolithic 
remains,  206. 
Relics  in  American  tutnnli,  268. 
„     in  bone-caves,  312,  311. 
„     from saciifieial mounds,  270-272. 
Religion,  absence  of,  among  Paraguay- 
ans, 531. 
„     among  Patagoniaus,  536. 
J)         ,,        Fucgians,  541. 
>»         >>       Gri-enland  Esquimaux, 

511. 
„         „       Northern  Indians,  519. 
„     and  science,  593,  GOO. 
„     nations  witliout,  575. 
„    none  among  the  Audamaners, 

437. 
»  „  „         Australians, 

447. 
„    of  Fcpgeeans,  453,  457,  459. 
„     of  Hottentots,  433. 
„     of  Lalcemcn,  217. 
„     or  Maories,  4G6. 
„     of  Tahiti,  484. 
„     lowest  forms  of,  581. 
Religious  ideas  among  savages,  575. 
Hesponsibility  of  savages,  566. 
Rhinoceros  at  Abbeville,  361. 


Rhinoceros,  fossil,  289,  296,  317,  32Q 

377. 
Ribe,  tumuli  near,  46. 
Richardson,  on  peculiar  form  of  ice,  66. 
„  on  Dogiib  Indians,  570. 

„  check  studs,  508. 

Richborough,  coins  found  at,  17. 
Riddle,  Dr.,  his  experiments,  397. 
Rigollot,  IM.,  his  researches,  343. 
Rivers,  action  of,  on  land,  361,  etc. 
Rivcr-conrses  changing,  381. 
„      drift  gravel-beds,  3 12,  etc. 
„      levels,  alteration  of,  365,  etc. 
_  Robenhausen,  tissue  found  at,  46. 

„  Animal  remains,197-199. 

Robinson,  Sir.,  451. 
Roehebrune,  M.,  on  cromlech  at  Con- 

folens,  127. 
Rock  carvings,  167. 

M  J,  in  Australia. 

.»  „  in  England,  Scotland, 

Ireland,       Brittany, 
167169. 
»  „  in  Scandinavia,  169. 

Roe,  317,  321. 
Roedeer,  208. 
Rogers,  Prof.,  343. 

„      W.,    on    Califoruiau    Indians' 
skill,  515. 
Rollrich  stones,  113. 
Roman  and  other  coins  at   Tiefeuau, 
221. 
„        inscriptions,  11. 
„        swords,  18. 
Ross,   Sir  J.,   on  E-quimaux   funeral 
custom,  512. 
„      on  musk-sheep  hunt,  502. 
„      on  sledge,  505. 
„      on  ignorance  of  boats,  506. 
„       on  winter  stores,  495. 
„      on  religious  ide;is,  579. 
„      on  opinions  and  character,  492, 
512,  514. 
Rougemout  on  date  of  rouud  towers, 
50. 
>.  sotirccs  of  tin,  608. 

Royal    Irish   Academy,    stone   imple- 
ments at,  76. 
Runes,  note  on  the  invention,  and  the 

cliaracters  employed,  GO  I. 
Runic  inscriptions,  8;  note,  11. 

„      alpliabet,  601. 
Rutlierford  on  ftat  of  New  Z^alanders, 

545. 
Riitimeyer,  his  researches,  169,  178. 
„  on   fauna  of  Lake-dwell- 

inirs,  19 1, 195-197, 199- 
205,  210,  358. 


634 


INDEX. 


Eiitimeyer  on  connecting  links  be- 
tween certain  species, 
309. 

„  on  human   remains  from 

Lake-dwellings,  215. 

„  on    horse    and     reindeer 

bones  from  Dordogne 
caves,  326. 

„  summary  of  bones  from 

Veyrier  cave,  326. 

„  on  the  bison,  306. 

„  on  Shs  palustris,  200. 

„  on  fossil  oxen,  204. 

„  bones   of  wild  and  tame 

animals,  200. 


Saadvedra,  on  ignorance  of  fire  among 
inhabitants  of  "Los  Jardines," 559. 
Sacred  enclosures  of  America,  262. 
Sacrifices  at  funerals,  170. 
Sacrificial  mounds  described,  269. 

„  „        theory  concerning, 

271.  ._ 
Sagas,  tumulus  mentioned  in,  117. 
Sahara,  387,  401.. 
Salmon   abundant   in  Boothia  Felix, 

505. 
Salutations,  diversity  of,  563. 
Samoans,  453,  577. 
Sauchee,  monument  at,  126. 
Sandstone  in  river-gravel,  370. 
Sandwich  Islanders,  483,  note ;  489. 
Sanford,  Mr.,  293. 
Sarcens,  122.     • 
Sardinian  "  Nurhags,"  56. 
Sargasso,  Mare  di,  61. 
Saulcy,    M.   de,    on   Moabite    monu- 
ments, 125. 
Savage  nations,  comparative  table  of 
implements,  weapons,  etc., 
553. 
„       tribes,  comparisons  between, 

548. 
„  „        their       exclusiveuess 

554. 
Savages  and  children  compared,  570. 
„        of  modern  times,  424. 
„       knowledge   of,   important  to 
archieologists,  428. 
not  degenerate,  428,  585. 
„        their  perils,  594. 
„        their  self-inflicted  sufferings, 
596. 
their  skill,  544. 
„        their  weapons,  remarks  upon, 
552. 


Saws  of  bronze,  "7. 
Saxon  weapons  of  iron,  21. 
Scandinavian  tuinuli.  131. 

„  opinions,  134. 

Schlegel  on  Chinese  prejudice  against 

hare,  198. 
Schmerling,  Di*.,  finds  human  relics  in 
caves  at  Liege,  313. 
„  on  Engis  skull,  337. 

,,  "  Ossements     fossiles   " 

quoted,  64. 
Schoolcraft  on  American  funerals,  129, 
130. 
„  „  Indians,  515, 

519,  525. 
,,  on  Dightou  Rock,  278. 

„  gn  Sandstone  relic,  278. 

„  statistical  calculations,  593. 

„  history    of   Indian    tribes, 

250,  252,  254,  424. 
Schulz,  Don  G.,  on  sources  of  tin,  608. 
Schiitz,  M.,  on  Sus  2}ahistris,  26-1. 
Schwab,    Col.,    bis     collection     from 
Nidau,  13. 
„  finds  pottery  at  Nidau,  218. 

„  on  lake-villages  burned,  220. 

,,  his  collections,  215,  216. 

Science  anl  virtue,  600. 
Scientific  inventions,  their  utility,  599. 
Scioto  river  embankment   281. 
Scotland,  shell-mounds  in,  229. 
,,        Lake-dwellings  in,  174. 
,,        reindeer  in,  303. 
Scrapers,  what,  and  where  found,  95, 
328. 
„         of  modern   Esquimaux,  96, 
507. 
Sculptured  stones,  167-169. 
Scylax,  63. 
Sea-level  in  Denmark.  230- 

„        change  of,  382,  414. 
Secondary  interments,  140,  164. 
Seeds  of  Lake-men,  212. 
Selserstown  mound,  281. 
Semilunar  implements,  98. 
Semitic  ornamentation,  72. 
Seneca  on  ancient  oxen,  305. 
Sepulchral  mounds  in  America,  267. 
,,  pottery  classifi'>d,  165. 

,,  urns  of  British  tumuli,  165. 

,,  incense  cups  of       ,,      166. 

„  food  vases  of  „      166. 

„  driuking-cnps  of  „      167. 

feasts,  170,  171. 
Sewing,  savage  skill  in,  548. 
Shelley,  Mr.,  his  flint-finds  near  Rei- 

gate,  107. 
Shell-fish,  206,  308. 


INDEX. 


G35 


Shell -niound  axes,  96. 
Shell-mouuds  in  Australia,  438. 

„  in  New  Zealand,  462. 

„  of  Denmark,  223-229. 

„  of  other  countries,  229, 

230. 
„  how  related  to  tumuli, 

244 
„  their  antiquity,  229-230, 

2J8. 
Shetland  isles,  "  burghs"  in,  55. 
Ship  or  boat  found  in  Slesvick,  8. 

,,  its  contents,  9. 

Shirley  quoted,  177. 
Shortiand  quoted,  563. 
Shortt,  Dr.,  578. 

Shrub  Hill  gravel,  remains  in,  350. 
Siberia,  axe  used  in,  26,  27. 
Siberian  YuVts,  131. 
Sickles,  bron/.e.  32. 
Silbury  Hill,  112,  113. 
Silver  abundant  in  Denmark,  11. 
„      among  ancient  Americans,  253. 
„      not  found  in  Bronze  Age,  3,  20, 

37. 
„      used  in  lion  Apre,  16. 
„      when  first  noticed,  3. 
Similarities  and  ditterences  of  weapons 

and  other  objects,  556. 
Simpson,    Sir  G.,  statistical,  calcula- 
tions, 594. 
Simpson,  Sir  J.  Y.,  on  rock  carvings, 
119,167. 
„       stone   circles    in   Australia, 
114. 
Simpson's  Discoveries  quoted,  499. 
Sin,  why  committed,  600. 
Skin-scrapers,  95,  97,  191,507. 
Skins  of  animals   used    for    dress   in 

Bronze  Age,  45. 
Skulls  from  Scandinavia,  136,  240. 
,,         ,,     Knglish  tunuili,  136. 
„      classified,  137. 
„     various,  138,  337. 
„     moulded  in  ancient  and  modern 

times,  517. 
„      from  Switzerland,  215. 
Skyring  on  Fuegian  skill,  516. 
Sledges  of  Es(|uimaux,  505. 
Slesvick,  finds  in,  of  Iron  Age,  8. 
Slingstones,  189.  190,  177. 

„  of  flint,  100. 

Smith,  Dr.,  of  Camborne,  on  the  Cas- 
siterides,  67 ;  on  tin  mines,  70. 
„     Rev.  A.  C,  reference  to,  121, 

note. 
,,     J.  A.,  on  reindeer,  303,  304. 
Society  Islands,  482. 


Society  of  Antiquaries,  flint  implements 

possessed  by,  345. 
Solar  radiation,  variation  of,  399. 
Soldering  unknown  in  Bronze  and  early 

Ir(m  Age,  41. 
Solomon,  68. 
Sonnne   river-bed    gi-adually   formed, 

373,  etc. 
Somme  valley  alluvium,  age  of,   175, 
383. 
„         „       section  of,  363. 
,,         ,,       visited,  343. 
Sottais,  64,  note. 
South  Sea  tumuli,  114. 
Spain,  tin  from,  69,  70. 

„      rock  carvings  in,  168. 
Sparrman,  M.,  433. 
Spear-heads  of  flint,  100. 
Spears,  bronze,  31. 
Species^  success'iou  of,  in  Europe,  290. 

,,       transitions  of,  308. 
Speke  on  East  African  custom,  564. 
„      on  opinions  of  African  tribes, 
425. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  on  progress,  602. 
Spiennes,  flint  works  at,  82,  107. 
Spindle  whorl,  190. 
Spix  and  ]\Iartius,  reference  to,  561, 

570,  573. 
Squier  and  Davis,   on   vnried  contents 
of  Jlississippi  tuuiuii,  79. 
„         on  Jlississi])])!  valley  monu- 
ments, 250,  283. 
„         on  early  American  art,  253, 

258. 
„         Indian  j)opulation,  281. 
„         on    Bourneville    Enclosure, 

259. 
„         on  I'oi-t  Hill,  260. 
,,         opinion  on  earthworks,  261. 
,,         on  animal-mounds,  274. 
„         on  sacrificial  mounds,  268. 
„         on  tenij)le-ninunds,  272. 
,,         on  Scioto  valli'v  works,  270. 
„         on  Aztalan,  261. 
„    Mr.,  on  l)oiie-)iits,  268. 
„         on  ston(?circles  in  Peru,  1 1 4. 
„         references  to,  188,  250,  255, 
26  k 
Staffordshire  tumuli,  155. 
Stag.  321.  377. 
Stanbridge,   illustration  of  Australian 

skill,  545. 
Stanley,  Dr.,  on  stone  circle  near  Tyre, 
113. 
„         Hon.  \y.  O.,  53. 
Stanton  Drew,  remains  at,  82,  107. 
St.  Acheul,  343,  364. 


G36 


INDEX. 


Stniguo  Fort,  Kerry,  56,  GOG. 
Statistics  ofarchseolojiicul  evidence,  15. 
„  intcrineuts,  142-1-19,  154- 

156. 
„  bronze  objects,  43. 

„  stone  implements,  357. 

■  Steel  unknown  to  bronze  workers,  40. 

,,     known  to  Greeks,  5. 
Steele  on  kissino-,  563. 
Steeustrup,  Prof.,  bis  researclies,  169, 
225,  226,  389. 
„  Discoveries    at   Froelund, 

106. 
„  on  bone    fra<?ments    from 

sliell-monnds,  232. 
„  his  opinions  on  small  flint 

axes,  97. 
„  on  sling-tones,  101. 

,,  on   peculiar     fracture     of 

skulls,  421. 
„  opinions,  224. 

„  on  sbell-uiouuLls,  244. 

Steiolierg",  181. 

Stennis,  stone  circle  at,  113,122. 
St.  Jobu,  Lieut.,  -137. 
Stoekbolm,  stone  implements  at,  76. 
Stepbens,  Piof.,  on  Iluuic  alpbabets, 

004. 
Stiles,  Rev.  Dr.,  on  Dighton  Rock,  278. 
Stoliczkn,  Dr.,  observation  of,  230. 
Stone  Age  civiliz-.ition  considered,  550. 
„         finds  belonging  to,  in  Sles- 

vick,8 
„         sources    of  our  knowledge 

of  it,  78. 
'  „         its  divisions,  243. 
„         its  recent   continuance    in 

some  places,  3. 
„         wliiit,  2,  75. 
„         liiis  been  denied,  76. 

doubts  of  Mr.  Wright,  77. 
„         tumuli  of,  118,  137. 
Stone  and  bronze  in  use  at  same  time 
both  in  Europe  and  in  Anie- 
ricii,  12,  77. 
„     axes    with    holes    for    handles, 
95. 
axes,  how  re-sharpened,  94. 
circles,  their  size,  113. 
,,       in  India,  114. 
„       in  Algeria,  127. 
coffin,  94. 

hiimmers,  American,  256. 
implements     of     America     and 
thoseof  other  coun- 
tries, 252. 
„         30,000    in      Danish 
museums,  76'. 


Stone  Implements  at  Flensborg,  Keil, 
and     Museum    of 
Royid   Irish    Aca- 
demy, 76. 
„  „         in  Stoekbolm,  76. 

„  ,,         in  Copenliageu  mu- 

seum classiKed,  75. 
„  ,,         similar    in    different 

countries,  59. 
„     used  for  implements  very  gene- 
rally, 75. 
,,     where  found,  105. 
,,     work  of  savayes,  549. 
Stonehenge,  113,  n9,  121-124. 

,,         tumuli  ne;ir,  123,  155. 
Strabo  on  ancient  supply  of  tin,  70. 
„       on  voyas^e  of  Pytbeas,  63. 
„       on  foundation  of  Utica,  68. 
„       on  Lake  near  Toulouse,  217. 
„       on  Iberian  custom,  562. 
Strobel,  M.,  on  early  Italian  remains, 

175.  , 

Stuart,  Mr.,  monuments  described  by 
him,  112,  168. 
„  on  Australian  knowledge 

of  fire,  415. 
Studs  or  buttons  of  bronze,  37. 
Stukeley  on  Silburv  Hill  and  Abury, 

119,  i21. 
Sufferings,  voluntary,  596. 
"  Sumpitan,"  or  blow-pipe,  554. 
Superstition  of  savages,  581,  595. 
Surgery,  wonderful,  in  Taliiti,  482. 
Suter,    on    the   Lake- village  of  Wau- 

wyl,  186. 
Suttee  in  ancient  Britain,  171. 
Switzerland,  antiquities  in,  7. 
„  chronology  of,  389. 

„  lake-habitations,    12,  33, 

173, 178. 
Swords,  bronze,  29-31,  49,  50. 


Tables  of  interments,  142-149,  154- 
156. 
„.     of    animal  remains,    197-199, 

210,  377. 
„      of  vegetable  remains,  213. 
„      of  statistics,  15,  23,  43. 
„      illustrative  of  savage  life,  553. 
,,      of  earth's  excentricity,  411. 
Tacitus    on    Caledonian    swords     of 
iron,  7. 
,,       refers  to  sacred  lakes,  217. 
allusion  to,  300. 
Tahiti,  notices  of,  428,  469,  etc. 


INDEX. 


637 


Taliiti,  tnnnilus  in,  IM. 
TiinkciviUe  Turk  wild  cuttle,  206. 
'I'iinlv,  M.,  discovery  by,  'i'2z. 
Tiismaniaiis,  notices  of,  450,  574. 
Tiisiiiiin's  visit  to  New  Zealand,  424. 
Tate  on  rock  cavvinrrs,  1G7. 
Tattooiug  a  title  to  licavcn,565. 
,,  in  Australia,  116. 

,,         in  I'eegee,  456. 
„         in  New  Zealand,  463. 
„         in  Taliiti,  475. 
Taylor,  Meadows,  on  Indian  dolmens, 
129. 
„     referred  to,  126,  note. 
„      R.  C,  describes  animal-mounds, 

274. 
„      Rev.   R.,   his  adze   from  New 

Zealand.  98. 
„      S.,   describes     animal-mounds, 

274. 
„      on   ]\Iaori   opinions    of  Deity, 

466. 
„      on  New   Zealand  funeral  cus- 
tom, 134,  465. 
„      on  Aztalan,  261. 
Temple  mounds  in  America,  272. 
Temjiles  of  Keejjeeans,  453. 
Tennant's,   Sir  J.  E.,   "Ceylon,"  61, 

435. 
Ton  tbousand,  mound  of  the,  130. 
Teocallis  of  Mexico,  273. 
Tertre  on  Carib  skill,  515.  * 

Thebes,  bronze  knife  from,  33. 
Thetford,  ancient  remains  at,  174. 
Thiele,  valley  of,  14. 
Thouias,  Capt.,  on  Beehive  houses,  re- 
ferred to,  54. 
Thomsen,  iiis  services  in  archffiological 

science,  6,  22 1,  226. 
Thorsbjerg,  find  at,  9. 
Throwing-stick,  442. 
Thule,  65. 

Ihunbergon  Hottentots,  431,  433. 
'riiunderbolt,  427. 

"fhurnam  on  Jle^alithic  circles,  113. 
,,        on  tvfu's  cif  skull,  136. 
„       on    West  Kennet  tumulus, 
161. 
Thvrn,  tumulus  of,  116. 
Tides  of  Danish  coast,  230,  231. 
Tiefenau,  coins  found  at,  7. 

,,  relics  from,  7,  221. 

Tierra  del  Fuego,  customs  in,  241. 
Tilhugfrersteens,  102. 
Time,  its  influence  on  physical  features 
of  man,  588. 
,,     slow  among  savages,  567. 
„     and  geology,  418. 


Tin  button,  49. 
,,    sources  of,4o,  61,  69. 
„    quantity  ]  roduced  in    Spiiiu   li- 
mited, 70. 
„  nails.  49. 

„  cbictly  from  Cornwall,  69. 
,,  its  early  use,  4. 
„  in  HiiHstadt  bronze,  24. 
„  bar  of,  found  at  I'^stavayer,  45. 
„  implements  not  Ibund  in  Europe, 
57. 
Tinder  from  Lake-villages,  192. 
Tinicve,  coin  of,  3'JO. 
Tinne  language  has  no  word  for  be- 
loved. 521. 
Tobacco  pipes  of  ancient  Americans, 

258. 
Tomahawk,  one  use  of,  93. 

„  as  a  weapon,  95. 

Tonga  Islanders,  489. 
Tools  of  Tabitians,  470. 
Tool-stones,  102. 
Torfa;us,  bis  mciition  of  Moussa,  55. 

quoted,  304. 
Torquemada  quoted,  89. 
Torres  Straits,  dead  bouses,  134. 
Tournal  and  Chrislol,  MM.,  their  dis- 
covery of  human  relics  among  those 
of  extinct  animals,  313. 
Trade  winds,  402. 
Tradition  nnperlcct,  424. 
,,         important,  427. 
Transition  period  from  bronze  to  iron, 

22. 
Travel,  its  pleasures,  598. 
Treenhoi,  46. 

'I'ristram,  Dr.,  on  the  Sahara,  404. 
Trojan  war,  when  it  occnried,  5. 
Troyon,  on  Bronze  Age,  176. 

„  census  of  Lsdic-villages,  180. 
„  on  ancient  potteiy,  192,  218. 
„       on  population  of  I'iahlbautcn, 

357. 
„       "  Habitations  lacustrcs,"  178. 
„       observations,   179,    184,    217, 
218,  220. 
Truth  and  fiction  cemhincd,  CO. 
Tsehutski,  winter  dwellings  of,  132. 
Tumuli,  abundance  of,  in  Biitain,  110. 
„        in  Algeria,  127. 
„        in  America,  79,  111,  267. 
in  Brittany,  1G3. 
of  Denmark.  46,  110,  223. 
in  United  States,  2G8. 
in  the  Orkneys,  110. 
in  India,  111"  125. 
„        in  otlier  countries.  111,  116, 
168,  528. 


638 


INDEX. 


Tuninli,  mostly  prc-historic,  116. 
„        of  various  periods,  151. 
„        of  uncurtain  dates,  152. 
„        should  be  preserved,  172. 
„       how  related  to  shell-mounds, 

214. 
„       of  the  Stone  Age,  118. 
„       near  Stonehenge,  123. 
„        chambered,  131. 
long,  136. 
See  also  Barrow,  ]\Iound. 
Turner's  Polynesia,  583. 
Twine  found,  213. 
Tydeus,  mound  of,  116. 
Tylor,  Mr.,  his  "  Anahuac,"  89. 
„       on  recent  formations,  382. 
„       on  supposed  degeneracy  of  sa- 
vages, 585. 
„       on  Tahitian  boiling-stones,  479. 
„       references  to,  559. 
Tyndall,  Prof.,  visits  Silbnry  Hill,  120. 
„        on  formation  of  glaciers,  899. 
Tyrian   mechanical    arts   in   time   of 
Solomon,  68. 

U. 

Uhlmann,  M.,  178,  392. 

Uig,  remains  at,  54. 

Ulloa,  on  Brazilian  ideas  of  chastity, 

569. 
Umiak  and  Kajak,  506. 
United  States  archaeology,  250. 
Unity  of  human  race,  586,  587. 
Urn-burial  in  America,  268. 
Ursus  spelfBus,  or  cave-bear,  289. 
Urus   or  Bos  primigenius,  209,  289, 
306,  377. 
„      how  far  extinct,  208. 
Urville,  Dumont  d',  on  city  of  Ton- 
dano,  176. 
„        dress  in  New  South  Wales, 

446. 
,,        music  of  Maories,  465. 
,,        on  Mausoleum  in  the  Friendly 
Islands,  483,  note. 
Usher,  Dr.,  287. 

Usher's  chronology  inadequate,  385. 
Utica,  when  built,  68. 


Vaillant,  M.  le,  referred  to,  198,  note. 
Vallency,  Colonel,  on  Dighton  Rock, 

278. 
Vancouver's  Voyage  qnoted,  508. 
Island,  510. 


Varieties    of   men,    of   very   ancient 

origin,  587. 
Veddahs,  notices  of,  64,  435. 
Vega,  G.  de  la,  quoted,  273. 
Vegetable  remains  in  drift,  366. 
Vegetables  of  Lake-men,  212. 
A^'erneuil,  De,  opinion   of  Mammoth, 
295. 
„  reference  to,  345. 

Verstegan,  referred  to,  363. 
Vibraye,  Marquis  de,  340. 
Vimose,  discoveries  at  the,  11. 
Virchow  referred  to,  112,  138. 
Virgil  cited,  116,  217. 
Virginia,  temple  in,  114. 
Virtue,  various  notions  of,  564. 
Viseonti,  Signor,  work  by  him  referred 

to,  51. 
Vitrified  walls,  265. 
Vivian,  Mr.,  315,  316. 
Vocabularies  of  savages,  571. 
Vogt,  on  cave-bear,  292. 

„      referred  to,  139,  218. 
Von  Sacken's  "  Leitfuden"  referred  to, 

164,  note. 

W. 

Wace  quoted,  122. 
Wallace  on  Brazilian  skill,  545,  548. 
„         remark  of,  577. 
„         varieties  of  the  human  races, 

590. 
„         Fuegians,  537. 
„         on  Tahitian  ideas  of  cookery, 
477. 
Wallis  quoted,  481. 
Wampum,  279. 
Wangen,  finds  at,  13-15,  92,  192. 

„        Lake-dwellings  at,  179, 186, 

189. 
„         animal  remains  from,  197- 
199. 
Wausdyke,  pre-historic,  113.  , 

Waukesha  animal-mounds,  275. 
Warren,  Mr.,  finds  flint  hatchet  near 

Icklingham,  347. 
Water  held  sacred,  217. 
VVauwyl,  find  at,  14,  190. 

Lake-dwellings  at,  182,  186. 
Wayland  Smith,  his  myth,  64. 

„        similar  myth  in  Ceylon,  64. 

>,  „  „        Lipari,  6i. 

»  „  „        Belgium, 

64,  note. 

Wealden  formation,  418. 

Weapons  of  savages,    431,  442,  452, 

464,  477,  500, 522,  534,  537. 


INDEX. 


639 


Weasel,  207. 

Weaving  iu  the  Stone  Age,  190. 

Weems,  Si,  78. 

West  Kennet  tiumilus,  161. 

Westinorelaud     tumuli,    contents    of, 

149. 
Wlicat   found   iu    Lake-villages,   211, 

2.31. 
Whetstone  from  West  Kennet,  163. 

Switzerhuul,  189,190. 
Wliitaker,  Mr.,  finds  iniplenients,  3J8. 
Whitburn,  Mr.,  his    finds  near  Guild- 
ford, 316. 
White  men  worshipped,  567. 
Wliittesley,  Col.,  255. 
Whittlesey,  on  Mouiid-huilders,  261. 
Wibel  on  Brouze  Age,  57. 
Wiberg,  theory  of,  60. 
Wigs  of  Feegt'eans,  456. 
Wilde,  Sir  W.  R.,  opinions  of,  28. 
„      on  rarity  of  copper  in  Bronze 

Age,  58. 
„      his  classification  of  flint  arrow- 
heads, 102. 
„      on  stone  celts  of  Dublin  Mu- 
seum, 78. 
„      on  "  Cranuoges,"  176. 
Wilkes,  Capt.,  on  Australian  funeral, 
448. 
„      quoted,  456,  458,  559. 
Wilkinson,  !>ir  G.,  33. 
Williams,  on  Feegeean  towns,  452. 
»  „         agricultural    im- 

plcciients,  455. 
>»  >,         customs,  171,453, 

460. 
Wilson,  Dr.,  on  early  allusions  to  the 
Caledonian  Wall  and  Abury, 
123. 
„       on  bones  from  earthworks,  283. 
„       skill  of  Polynesians,  545. 
„       on  early  American  Metallurgy, 

256. 
„       European  decorative  art,  257.  • 
„       on  sandstone  relic,  278. 
„       plan  of  Scioto    valley   earth- 
works, 262.  . 
„       on        American        sepulchral 

mounds,  268. 
„       remains  of  man,  283. 
„       on    sacrificial    mounds,    269, 

272. 
„       on  Dighton  Rock  inscription, 

278. 
„       on  Tahitian  costinne,  475. 
„       on  Kumbecepliaiic  skulls,  136. 
„       on  ancient  belief  in  a  future 
state,  139. 


Wilson,  quoted,  114. 

„     referred  to,  95,  note;  255,  261, 
489,  517. 
Wiltshire  tumuli,  123,  155.  161. 
Wisconsin,  ancient  remains  in,  251. 
Witchcraft  among  savages,  581. 
Wokey  Hole,  323. 
Wolf,  207,  320,  326. 
Wolverine,  or  glutton,  305. 
Women,  lot  of,  in  Australia,  449. 
,.  ,.        Feegee,  455. 

„      Maori,  466. 
„      North  American,  519. 
„      Tahitian,  487. 
„      treatment  of,  569. 
Wood,  Colonel,  his  discoveries  of  rein- 
deer horns,  302. 
Wooden  relics  in  North  America,  256. 
Woollen  garments  found  in  Jutland, 

46. 
Worsaae,    Prof.,   his   division   of  the 
Stone  Age.  213. 
,,        various    opinions     and    re- 
marks on    shell-mounds, 
225,  214-247. 
„        on  graves  of  dillerent  periods, 

151,  152. 
„        on  Jut  hind  tumuli,  45. 
,,        on  ettieieiiey  of  ancient  wea- 
pons, 547. 
Worship,   tribes   without,   575.      See 

Religion. 
Wretchedness  of  savages,  583. 
Wright,  Mr.,  on  similarity  of  bronze 
weapons  in  difiereut  coun- 
tries, 59. 
,,         his  opinions  considered,  17. 
,,        his  doubts  of  the  Stone  Age, 

76. 
„        essays  on   archa?ology,   etc., 

16,  18,  64,  122. 
,,         Homer  quoted,  118. 
Writing,  art  of,  in  ancient  America, 

279. 
Wyatt  on  flint  implements  near  Bed- 
ford, 348. 
„      referred  to,  343,  353. 
Wyeth,  Mr.,  on   Indian  implements, 
522. 
„       their  lack  of  provisions,  528. 
Wylic  on  lake-dwellings,  217,  note. 
"  SVummera,"  443. 


Xenophon,  allusions  to,  116,  562. 


640 


INDEX. 


Yorkshire  tumuli,  contents  of,  146- 

149. 
Young,    Dr.,    on    Hieroglypbic?,   Gl, 

note. 
Yourt,  or  Yurt,  wliut,  131,  492. 


Yule,  Colonel,  referred  to,  125,  127, 
580. 


Zealanders.  See  New  Zcalanders. 
Zinc  unknown  in  Bronze  Age,  37. 
Zippe,  Prof.,  112. 


